A restaurant owner in Bristol was so frustrated at the number of people sleeping on the streets of his city, he launched a project to covert shipping containers into homes.
Jasper Thompson, owner of Jasper’s Jamaican Diner, kick-started a drive among his friends, neighbours and patrons to furnish and decorate a second-hand container donated by a local shipping container business.
“You see a lot of guys sleeping in the freezing cold weather in winter, and I wanted to do something more than offer a cup of coffee,” Thompson explained. “I just wanted to see if I could make a real difference in their housing situation.”
Thompson, 58, persuaded local tradesman to give up some of their spare time to installing the insulation, electrics and plumbing. Then others in the community rallied round to paint the place, and pay for the flooring, lights, furniture and bedding.
Thompson reckons the completed container home cost about £5,000 to put together.
And he now hopes to have 10 more containers converted in Bristol by the end of Autumn, provided he can persuade the local authority to find a site for the temporary homes.