hohost: welcome to "global 300" this week we meet a south african entrepreneur who is using sustainable bricks made of construction waste to build sturdy homes for the poor. many people in bhutan are poor too, but only in a material sense. we visit the nation where happiness is the most important thing. first though, we go to the antarctic and talk to the scientists who spend months based d in the world's coldest region.. right at the very south of our planet lies antarctica, the

continent of snow and ice. in 1911, the norwegian roald amundsen became the first person ever to reach the south pole, the last region of earth that was still unexplored and uninhabited by humans. in 1959, 12 nations signed the antarctic treaty, pledging to use the region only for peaceful purposes, and particularly for scientific research. today, there are around 80 research stations in the antarctic, used by 4000 scientists frorom all over the world. we wanted to know what it's like to spend months in the cold and ice, and so we headed there, starting at the airport close to the russian polar research station, novolazarevskaya. reporter: approaching antarctica from the air.

on board thihis aircraft are scientists from m ten differet countries. they'll be spending the polar summer doing their research here. this y year, the team from belas is especially large. aleksey: belarus has very big program for science. biologists, cosmologists, and geophysicists. now, we're building our station. reporter: india has also sent a large team. members will be making their way to the country's two antarctic research stations. jeeva: the climate study is based upon together what we are studying. so it is not a year or two. an accumulation of all the data we have and the trend, what are

the conditions of the ice, for example, the receding of the glacier. reporter: nearly all of antarctica is covered in ice. leonid vasilenko comes from russia. he works at the novolazarevskaya station close to the airport. he's a veteran researcher. like most of the russians here, he started working in the polar regions during the soviet era. leonid: my wife was pregnant. >> pregnant? my daughter, she was eight months, first time. reporter: having been observing the environment for many years, the researchers have been able to monitor the changes taking place. aleksey: when you have results

from any year, you can know about how change weather on our planet. reporter: one subject of interest involves lunar observations. it's well known that the moon's gravity affects ocean tides. but its exact effect on weather has not yet been well explained. the russian team co-operate with the seismologists at the german neumayer research station. it's 700 kilometers away. few visitors come e here. the neumayer station is, after all, in a very remote location. josefine stakemann and edith korger study the earth's magnetic field and measure the strength of earthquakes. they're not the only ones. researchers from several other

nations conduct similar work. still, the scientists say therere's nowhere e near enoughh exploratation underwayay on antarctica. josefine: antarctica is still a fundamentally unexplored continent. that's why there are actually too few stations to collect data. reporter: marcus schumacher agrees. he heads the neumayer station's air chemistry observatory. he's worried about the rise in the percentage of co2 in the antarctic atmosphere. he's also concerned that the untouched southern continent could fall victim to economic exploitation. marcus: it's hard to say what will happen and how things will develop. especialally if some areas bece ice-free and amazing raw materials are unearthed. but years ago, the antarctic treaty was agreed and extended.

i see that as a good sign that it will continue to go in this direction. reporter: birgit steckckelberg leads the research team at neumayer. the work done here is purely scientific. anything else would be forbidden, in accordance with the antarctic treaty that the international community agreed to in 1959. bibirgit: there are regular, unannounced inspections that take place at the stations. up to this point, there haven't been any conflicts. but considering world history, one can only hope that the intentions remain purely scientific. reporterer: one big drdraw for reresearchers atat neumayer ise emperor r penguins. the scientntists want t to exae

the animals' breeding behavior in order to predict possible threats caused by climate change. the international researchers share their results with each other. marie charlott: people always talk about the antarctic family. all the conflicts that exist elsewhere in the world fall by the wayside. everyone helps each other, and people try to get along. at times, under truly inhospitable conditions. it's nice to see that in spite of all the bad news in the world, it can really can work. reporter: successful collaboration on the most sparsely populated continent on earth. host: while some researchers are busy in the antarctic, others focus their energy on happppine, asking what people really need to live contented lives. money, say some. lots of money. but there are other important factors. deep, stable relationships, good health, educational qualifications, and a job that

matches one's skills. happiness experts have long been ininterested in n where the haht pepeople live. the un's world happiss report sees nwaway and nmarark rang high, and finland topping the list for the s second year running. bhutan, meanwhile, features further downwn t the small nation in the ststern hilayayas haits owown b>> if you go straight you go to furtimphu.wnwn if you go left you go to paro. reporter: this is a master class in navigation. there is no autopipilot, no rad, just pure flying skill. >> the airfield in paro sits in a valley. it's a very narrow valley. so you do not have much scope to maneuver the aircraft. and then the valley is bending and it is turning and meandering its way, so you have to actually

fly the airplane in the valley and d land. terrain, the monasteries, the hills, the valley. reporter: the pilot tells us that it takes time to learn to navigate the terrain. the pilots orientate themselves using buildings, monasteries, and the landscape in general. a little luck never hurts when flying into bhutan. every landing is different, but these professionals know what they are doing. >> obviously all those blessings are going and helping the nation. the people are happy, the people are blessed. that's the way i think it should be. reporter: bhutan is different. it's the only country in the world where welfare is measured not in terms of gross domestic product, but by gross national happiness. anyone who wants to find out more about this should be ready

to wear traditional dress. and that's how we got into the government quarter in the capital. the former monastery and fortress is now government headquarters. we were advised to bring a gift for our host, a bottle of whiskey properly wrapped. perhaps that's another path to happiness. sound economics is also important. thinley: all countries try and pursue it. in that case what we alslso sees we have to ensure that we are pushing socio-economic development. we also have to ensure that it does not come at the cost of our environment, our culture, and tradition. if the policies cause less than the threshold level, the policy is sent back to the concerned agency. reporter: the happiness commission, the think tank and nerve center of the government. whatever takes place in these halls of bureaucracy is aimed at

achieving one thing, collective happiness. according to the constitution, at least 60% of the bhutan's land must be forested. bhutan absorbs more carbon dioxide than it produces, the only country in the world to do so. compared to other countries,s, bhutan is poor but well-educated, a pillar of happiness. education is free and standards are high. to outsiders, the nation might look like an outdoor museum, but on the inside it's a society that protects and treasures its culture. but is everyone in bhutan really happy? thinley: as you go around, when you ask different people, "are you happy?," i'm sure they'll be a mixed thing, but if you really look at, in terms of the effort

the government is making towards, i think we have done very well. reporter: i can yourself, do you consider yourself a happy man? thinley: yes, very much. reporter: and on a scale from one to ten? thinley: one to ten, maybe about seven, eight. reporter: every few years the happiness commission asks the public howow happy they are. the last poll indicated around 75% of bhutanese are indeed happy. peday is one of them. peday: we could have two rice harvests a year, but there's no need. one's enough. we just don't need m more. we're happy with that. reporter: capitalists would despair here. maximizing profit is a foreign concept. so is stress. indeed, the country has its own rhythm.

when peday announces that dinner is ready, many come running. three generations live under one roof. of course, people in many parts of the world see togetherness as being important, but here, it actually happens. peday: why should we leave this place? the house, the fields, our parents gave all of this to us. we'll pass it on to our children. we have work, we have food. we're all happy. reporter: her husband likes to chew on areca nut wrapped in a betel leaf in his garden. it's a mild stimulant, which could also be a factor in happiness. bhutan is about the size of switzerland, with around 800,000 inhabitants. tourism is sparse.

that could be in an attempt to control influences from abroad. but is that control a good thing in the long run? smartphones are everywhere. what previously was far away is now at locals' fingertips. and the outside world can be tempting with all it has to offer. whether young people are happy, and whether they will stay, will decide the country's future. buddhism is still powerful. buddhists believe in the close relationship we have with the universe, and astrology. lopen: it's like math. we calculate, subtract, multiply. the stars tell us if it will be a good day. whether we should do things or leave well enough alone. that's how we e determine happiness. a scale of one to ten, i rate myself an eight. and that's only because there are some things that we all have to endure, like illness and death.

reporter: so happiness does have its limits. there is also no guidebook to follow on becoming happy. not even here inin the land of happiness, in bhutan. host: helping others is another way to boost your happiness levels. in this week's "global ideas," we meet a young entrepreneur from south africa doing exactly that. his aim is to revolutionize the country's overstretched housing situation. in the townships of johannesburg, where he grew up, poverty is a big problem, coupled withth an acacute shore of places for peopople to liv. reporter: the township of soweto lies just south of johannesburg. formerly a home to miners, the region now has around four million residents. no one knows the exact number.

most live in corrugated sheet metal shacks. and that's just what young entrepreneur nhlanhla ndlovu wants to change. he wants to have lotots of brik houses built. 50,000 homes are needed in the johannesburg metropolitan area. nhlanhla: we have a lot of people who are coming to johannesburg, coming to look for work opportunities. so most of them actually prefer to live in the townships because it is cheaper to live e there wn you are renting and it is actually convenient for you to leave from wherever you are staying to go to work. so, this creates an opportunity for homeowners to actually create accommodation for those people where they are renting the backyard structures, either in a formal mannerer or they ae renting a shack. reporter: many south africans could never afford to buy a home of their own. so t they rent shacks in other people's backyards, all crammed together side by side. nhlanhla ndlovu is a self-taught bricklayer. while building an outbuilding in

the backyard of his parents' home, he got an idea to replace corrugated metal shacks with brick houses. his customers are the people who own the land. they pay for the building in monthly installments using the rent they receive from the tenants, while the tenants themselves g get to live in a better home. plus, the whole thing is more environmentally friendly, as the houses are made of special bricks. nhlanhla: they are more like, almost like lego bricks. so, because they are interlocking, you are actually using 70% less cement. so this actually cuts your building costs by up to 30%. you can use unskilled and semi-skilled labor to actually build with these bricks. you only use a qualified brick layer when you do the foundadations and just the restf the structure when you have to put in the roofing. reporter: nhlanhla ndlovu makes his bricks out of old construction wasaste, so he doesn't need to use sand. that also means the bricks don't

have to be fired in a kiln, which saves on energy. because the building blocks are interlocking, the pressure of their own weight is sufficient to make the wall strong and stable. it's an unusual way to build, but it's less of a burden on the environment than traditional masonry. nhlanhla: since we are not using the traditional building method, most people were a bit skeptical when it comes to interlocking bricks. especially when you tell them that you only use cement to build the structureses. so having to have a pilot, this has kind of f unlocked our potential clients. we now have people because they can see, touch, and feel the structure. it is now more convincing for them to be even interested in the technology. reporter: this man was also interested and happy to learn more. mzwandlie sibiya is among the first tenants to move into one of the brick houses. the 35-year-old car mechanic has been living in a backyard for six years, until recently, in a metal shack. but not anymore. now he has a proper home. he usesed to pay about 35 5 eua

month. now he pays 40. he thinks it's worth it. mzwandlie: actually i am very, very, very happy, because if you are staying in the shack it is not like you are staying in the room. shack is like,e, it is not a ple to be as a human being, actually. to stay in a room is where you feel confident and everything, and shack is not a room. reporter: buililding rubble isa major environmental problem in the impoverished districts of johannesburg. many companies just dump their waste inin the townships to o d papaying disposal fees. nondumiso o sibiya knowsws thil too well. every day, dozens of trucks come to her neighborhood to illegally dump building waste from more prosperous areas. this bothered her a lot, until it inspired her to become an entrepreneur. now she's fofounded a start-up that processes waste. nondumiso: a lot of peoplele o

waste removal, right? they collect wasaste and then ty collect waste. but then we actually take responsibility of where the waste ends up. we rehabilitate roads with the waste. we compost it. we also o redistribute it to organizations that make use of it. reporter: organizazations le nhlanhla ndlovu's house-building together.. ndlovu could use the plentifulr building rubble for his environmentally-friendly bricks. now, the two are working on ways to crush the waste and transport it to the construction sites. they hope to get started soon. nondumiso: so we are working out how we can actually collaborate and use the rubble as raw material for making bricks with the rubble. and then i it can be actually me profitable on bumbadotmobi's side and actually help hire more

people, because then we would need people who are going to make bricks and people who are going to separate the waste and crush the waste as well. reporter: more than ththree million publicly-subsidized homes have been built in south africa in the past 25 years. even so, the government has failed to meet thehe need for w housing. nhlanhla ndlovu says that many who came to johannesburg hoping for a better life are now living in worse housing than before. they're exactly the people he wants to help, and not just by building homes for them. he has many more ideas for the future. nhnhlanhla: with the informal settlements, the plan is to actually train the people that live here, up-skill them to actually build their own structures. so we can replace all their shacks by giving them skills and also training them to build their own houses. these are two areas which we are going to move into, another one being in the rural areas. reporter: all that is the stuff of the future. right now, each building is a major financial risk for

nhlanhla ndlovu and his start-up. he's only been ablble to comple three homes wiwith environmnmentally-friendlyriris so f far. ree momorere underer he's onlyconstruction.to comple but he's been inundated with requeststsor more. host: you'll find d more inspirg stories dw w women, our fafabook page. there you can learn n about won determined to make a real difference, and ange the status quo.. dw womomen gives a voice to th women of our world. this week in "global living rooms," we visit a family in colombia. ♪

luzmery: hello, welcome. my name is luzmery and this is my home. please come in. this is our living room, and this is our motorbike. it is standing here because we don't have a garage. the motorbike is really important for our family because it's our main mode of transport. we also use it to transport things to other villages. look, here are a few photos, mementos, and a painting. and our beloved virgin of guadalupe. her figure stands in the living room because our lady is part of our belief. that's very important to us. we believe that she protects our

home and helps to ensure that everything remains harmonious. please follow me. here is the area where we watch tv and relax. and here is the e hub of our ho, the kitchen. mmm, yummy, valerian. we drink it in tea form. it's about to boil. the herb's buds have a very calming effect. and this is our bedroom. we sleep here. but let's go outside now. this is the most important and also the nicest part of our home. because it's refreshing out here.

we sit down here, and chat. and eat here. and we enjoy the fresh air and being surrounded by trees. we hang out the washing here because this spot gets a lot of sun. thanks for the visit. i hope that you liked our home. come again at any time. you are always welcome. ciao. host: next week we head to a village in the state of chiapas in mexico, w where the knonowle ababout traditioional methodsf now, though, that is about ts adadualchan.g g lost

that's all from us this week. do send us your comments. write to global3000@dw.com and check us out on facebook, dw women. bye for now. ♪

- what's your prproblem, what's your solution? this is an intererview series about mamaking thehe world a a better. bill joy is a co-founder of sun microsystems. when berkeley university became one of the first universities in the united states to offer computers to its students, bill joy becameme one of the first computer engineers wrwriting the code that laid the foundations for the first software. today, bill joy is focused on making sure that technology helps us m meet the biggest challenge of our times. welcome to kamp solutions. bill, you've studied many technologies that could help