A group of former university students in Africa are creating an energy-efficient home inspired by traditional architecture
Morocco's Noor 1 solar plant outside Ouarzazate is among the nation's cutting edge renewable energy projects. When it is completed in 2018 it will produce enough clean energy to power one million homes.Hide Caption 1 of 7
In the desert 12.5 miles outside of town, the plant's first stage has been completed. Its parabolic mirrors will play a significant role in contributing towards the nation's target of generating 40 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020.Hide Caption 2 of 7
Morocco is oil scarce, and is utilizing a variety of energy solutions to put the country at the forefront of sustainability — not just in Africa, but globally. Morocco ranks seventh in the world in the 2016 Climate Change Performance Index, and is the only non-European country in the top 20.Hide Caption 3 of 7
In 2010 a $300 million wind farm was inaugurated near Tangier (pictured). With 165 turbines and a production capacity of 140 megawatts, it has since been superseded by the Tarfaya wind farm — also in Morocco and the largest in Africa — which produces 850 megawatt hours.Hide Caption 4 of 7
The renewable wind energy sector is bolstering the manufacturing sector. Seventy percent of the spare parts for the turbines at Tarfaya (pictured) are constructed locally.Hide Caption 5 of 7
"Making electricity is only a part of a larger strategy," says Said Mouline, director of the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. With the country made up of 78 percent desert or dry zones, according to one estimate, water conservation is key.Hide Caption 6 of 7
One part of that fight is the ability to store water, particularly for agriculture, which uses up as much as 85% of Morocco's supply. The country has about 140 dams with a total storage of 635 billion cubic feet of water.Hide Caption 7 of 7
(CNN)A portable, energy-efficient home that was originally built for a competition may be available on the market soon in Africa.
The design was created by team Jua Jamii, a group of 40 former university students from countries including Tanzania, Nigeria and Swaziland.It uses recycled shipping containers and is 100% powered by solar energy, says Donald Abonyi, one of the team members.
The Jua Jamii house's exterior finishing.According to Abonyi, it was initially constructed as an entry for the Solar Decathlon Africa, a competition launched by the US Department of Energy to encourage African students to promote sustainability and meet energy housing needs. The two-year long competition brought together 18 teams from different universities in Africa, including Jua Jamii, to create innovative, energy-efficient building structures. 
Painting of the Jua Jamii house Read MoreNow the team wants to take things further by making the house available to the public."We all came together to apply to be shortlisted for the competition in late 2017. We wanted to solve some of Africa's housing problems," Abonyi, 27, told CNN."But now we are working on becoming a startup that will use green and self-sufficient building solutions to fight housing problems on the continent," he added.
Building the house
When Jua Jamii started building the house, the plan was simple — to create affordable and energy-efficient housing for middle-income families in Africa. The team expanded from six members to 40 in 2018 to make room for the implementation of all ideas. "Every member had a role to play in ensuring that the house was successfully completed. We had project managers, system designers, and architects," Abonyi said. By gathering shipping materials from a port in Morocco, they were able to lay the foundation for the building.Jua Jamii also focused on equipping the house with a 24-hour power supply. 
In many regions on the continent, electricity is expensive and difficult to access. Residents in countries like Nigeria and Kenya rely on expensive diesel generators — which also emit a lot of pollution — as an alternative.To curb this problem, the team incorporated building-integrated solar panels to the house for uninterrupted power. "It is a house that is net-zero. So it produces its own energy and does not consume more than the energy it produces," Francis Fotsing Sadeu, one of the team members, told CNN.
Inspired by African architecture
According to Sadeu, 26, Northern African architecture was incorporated into building the house."You cannot guess it is made from containers because it looks like a normal house. For the exterior, we adapted Northern African architecture."For example, it has a patio, an open space inside the house that allows natural ventilation and improves daylight," he said. The last stage of the Solar Decathlon took place in September in Morocco.Jua Jamii did not win the competition, but the team members — who have now graduated from their various master's degree programs — say they will take their product to the market in 2020. 
The interior design of the Jua Jamii house. Abonyi, who serves as the health and safety officer on the team, said the group is now focused on creating a business plan that will consider the marketability, energy production and cost of putting the house on the market. "We want to be able to build this house for people and companies interested in our product. We also want to advise construction companies on how to build similar efficient houses," he told CNN. While the prototype is approximately 114 square meters, it can be made in any size requested by consumers.Abonyi says the house is a good fit for many people because it doesn't take long to build. "It took us two weeks to build. We can easily get one for people who are interested in our innovation," he said.
