A house of prefabricated bricks, made of synthetic material will be inaugurated here on April 2, brick producers and innovators 'Gulbahao' said. According to the organisation's Managing Trustee Ms Nargis Latif, the innovative bricks named "wastic blocks" are easier to make and do not require much physical strength. She Thursday said that they had already trained some women to prepare these blocks, opening a new avenue for female employment.

Provincial Minister for Women Development Dr Saeeda Malik would inaugurate the house made of prefabricated bricks, which Gulbahao says will be the first of it kind. It will be a boon to cleanse environment by re-utilising waste plastic bags as well as generating employment opportunities, she said.

Wastic blocks, prepared from waste plastic bags drew public attention at the recent Expo Pakistan 2005 as well as during an earlier event at Regent Plaza. Gulbahao is currently conducting a drive to popularise wastic blocks, which it describes as "A gift from Karachi to the world."

Nargis Latif said she also proposed to Provincial Minister Dr Saeeda Malik for setting up 'women training center' in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Besides involving women in commercial activities like trading in waste material, the proposed center would train them in spreading population welfare and birth control awareness, water purification methods and environmental awareness.

Gulbahao Center presently employs 70 men and women through its "Rozgar-la-Mehdood Scheme."

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2005