Elsa Zaldívar - Combine loofah and plastic waste to make low-cost housing

Elsa Zaldívar takes leftover pieces of a vegetable sponge and mixes them with other vegetable matter and recycled plastic to form strong, lightweight panels that can easily be assembled into simple structures, including houses.

"We want to find sustainable housing alternatives for the poor, while also discovering new markets for their agricultural products. This is a perfect combination."

Her technological, eco-friendly solution to her nations housing shortage will help save what remains of Paraguay's rapidly diminishing forests.