CO2 Bambu, based in Nicaragua, has become the seventh Latin American investment of LGT Venture Philanthropy. LGTVP has committed to invest US$450,000 (equity) in the company, which designs, manufactures and assembles in situ prefabricated houses and community buildings such as schools and shelters made of bamboo. These structures are affordable, ecological and capable of withstanding earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. The organization offers a creative, if partial, response to the chronic housing shorting in Latin America (in Nicaragua, there is an estimated shortage of 400,000), which often pushes families into housing conditions that are dangerous and unhealthy.