PFNC Global Communities, shipping container homes for the homeless

The idea first came to homebuilder Brian McCarthy when he was touring Juarez, Mexico a few years ago. The city was booming with Fortune 500 companies moving work down south to get cheaper labour. But when he left the industrial area and ended up in a poor neigbourhood, he was stunned to see how the people who worked in those factories were living.

"We saw hundreds of homes that are made out of wood pallets and cardboard and scrap metal and scrap building material," McCarthy remembers. So when he read an article about someone converting a shipping container into a home, the concept for a new business was born.

"They talked about the merits of the construction, how strong they are, how affordable they are, and how plentiful they are," he reveals of his inspiration.

Partnering with a cousin and some college friends,  the quartet formed a company called PFNC Global Communities. The letters stand for the Spanish "Por Fin, Nuestra Casa," which translates as "Finally, our own home."

It's a small business with a big goal - give people who have no home a chance at all the amenities in a place that costs only US$8,000. The group has figured out how to make a lot of the one room 'house', working with only 320 square feet of space. The entire place is just 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 ½ feet tall.

But it's enough.

"We started with a kitchen and bathroom because they're the most necessary and most basic ingredients of a home," McCarthy recounts. They used space saving designs figured out by condo makers, trailer manufacturers and even jet plane builders and installed a gallery style kitchen, complete with a stove, sink, fridge, and a dinette. There's also a 48-square foot bathroom with a sink, shower and toilet.

The bedroom features space saving bunk beds for kids and separate sleeping quarters for the parents.

It can be hooked up to plumbing and electricity and provides a safe and secure environment for those who may never have had one.

Toronto's harsh winter climate will require some additional insulation, but that can likely be taken care of.  

It may not sound like much. But according to company co-owner Pablo Nava, to the poor folks in Juarez, it's a place to call home. People said, "You know it'd be like a dream to live in one of these," Nava relates. "You know, just the thought of having nice fresh air ventilating through the house, a large bed ... a normal kitchen and a safe home that locks and closes each night was more than appealing."

The small company can make as many as 3,000 of the custom made dwellings a year and hopes to increase that number as they ramp up production.