Canberra businessman sends flat-pack housing to Fiji to aid cyclone recovery

Many often have to repeat the process years or even months later after a similar natural disaster hits the country.

Now, a potential solution to the problem of frequent rebuilding efforts may have been found more than 3000 kilometres away in Canberra.

Business owner Andy Stodulka is set to send over a version of flat-pack housing to Fiji in coming weeks that can withstand cyclonic conditions.

Called "Dreams in a Box", the 3.5 metre x 3.5 metre house is designed to be put together using a regular toolkit, and also comes equipped with solar panels and a water tank.

"It's a steel frame that bolts together so that it can self-correct itself," Mr Stodulka said.

"The beauty is that it can either be transported in or taken out by a crane, it doesn't have to be a demolition job and can be fully recycled."

After discussions between being bothMr Stodulka as well as the Fijian government and the Fiji High Commission, a trial of the flat-pack housing will be sent to Fiji next month.

If the trial is successful, it's expected several hundred of the houses will be sent overseas ready for construction.

Mr Stodulka said the houses would be more secure than other homes built in areas after cyclones or other natural disasters, which often used timber from rainforests.

"Usually with rainforest timber it gets infested, and it's often a poor use of natural resources," he said.

Parts of the country are still recovering from Cyclone Winston, which struck the country in February and was one of the worst-recorded tropical cyclones in the Pacific.

The cyclone killed 44 people, with the damage bill from the natural disaster estimated at more than $2.5 billion.

The Canberra businessman said the trial for the houses for Fiji comes after a similar project in Vanuatu in 2006. Since then, the plans for the flat-pack homes have undergone a redesign, which was also designed to make the remote communities self sufficient following a natural disaster.