Our project facilitates the use of appropriate technologies, materials and labour adequate to local values, to the cultural specificity and responsive to the natural environment;
Some of the construction issues in San Pablo occur due to a loss of knowledge about utilising nature for the best building performance. Some are due to commercialisation of natural construction resources, which became either unaffordable or no longer available for the locals. We don’t only aim to build using vernacular techniques. Our aim is to improve on the current state of earthen construction in respect of bringing back the knowledge of building safer and more environmentally responsive habitats. Such approach is important to us, because it carries benefits beyond construction. With our community, we observe that our approach promotes social cohesion, willingness to participate on all levels of project development, growing respect towards own building tradition, and growing understanding that own natural methods of building are indeed better suited in this town than the regular cheap concrete block construction. In our work, we collaborate with Return to the Forest and ATC creating experimental workshops where we test best construction solutions using local materials. Our partners have many years of experience of working with local builders, who today can become leaders in their own community- teaching natural construction to farmers, women, children and even international volunteers.
