IKEA, designing a better home for refugee children.

Many of the shelters currently used in refugee camps often have a life span of as little as six months before the impact of sun, rain and wind means they need to be replaced. However, refugees usually stay in camps for several years.

The prototype of the shelter is now being tested in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. The refugee families who would be making the shelter their homes will have a direct say in how the product is developed, putting their experience at the heart of this collaborative process. 

Once UNHCR has gathered input from the families testing the shelter, the team will look at how they can make necessary changes and, hopefully, begin producing the new shelters.

The IKEA Foundation is also funding UNHCR’s search for other innovations, such as solar street lights, that will improve the lives of refugee families. ikeafoundation.org

Working with Refugee Housing and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR ), the IKEA Foundation funds the development and manufacturing of a new modular shelter to be used in refugee camps.