Ikea's not-for-profit Housing for All Foundation started Better Shelter with the aim of providing safe and durable temporary shelter for refugees fleeing conflict or natural disasters. 

In partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Better Shelter has designed a small house that is cheap and easy to erect. 

The Better Shelter houses cost around AU$1,600. They can be shipped in cardboard boxes - or flat-packs - and assembled without tools in a few hours, with the help of a simple illustrated booklet.

The UNHCR has ordered 30,000 of the shelters, to be used in their humanitarian operations around the world.

The shelters are designed to last about three years. Tents, which have been used by the UNHCR for temporary shelter until now, usually last only a few months.

The shelters are 57sqm, a significantly larger area than the tents, and have the advantage of being at least six feet high, so occupants can stand up inside them. The shelters are intended to comfortably sleep five people.

The small homes offer privacy to their occupants, a luxury that is often forgotten in refugee camps. They have lockable doors with a key, a solar panel linked to an LED light, a mobile phone charger, mosquito nets, windows, doors, and ventilation. 

Prototypes for the shelters were tested in Ethiopia and Iraq, allowing refugees to have input into the design process.

The shelters are now being used around the world, most recently in Greece. With almost 900,000 refugees and migrants fleeing to Europe so far this year, and with the majority entering through Greece - 425,000 came through Lesvos alone - the region is in desperate need of temporary housing.

Johan Karlsson, head of business development at Better Shelter, said, "As the current situation leads to many having to stay in transit camps during several halts of their distressful journey, we are pleased to be able to provide families with a moment of calm and safety."