by Laurie Simpson | Apr 30, 2018 | Guest post, Laurie Simpson, Student build story
Laurie first shared her student-build story and the challenges of building with mud on the edge of Hwange National park, Zimbabwe with us in 2014. Their cob home is complete and the gardens are thriving as they live a simple life alongside wildlife.
by Peter McIntosh | Feb 23, 2017 | Alternative building, Early Childhood Development centre, Guest post, Projects
In Delft, an impoverished township on the outskirts of the Cape Flats, local government is changing its approach to building early childhood development centres (ECDs) with a pioneering project showcasing a hybrid of natural building methods and up-cycled waste...
by Peter McIntosh | May 23, 2016 | Guest post, Rammed Earth
Rammed earth construction in South Africa has generally been stigmatised as a substandard and primitive building construction method reserved ‘for the poor’. Yet it is now gaining popularity for community social projects, as well as among wealthier clients. By Mary...
by Peter McIntosh | Feb 29, 2016 | Guest post, Permaculture, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements
Transitioning to Sustainability: Sustainability Is a Journey, and We Must Meet People Where They Are. By Scott Gallant Permaculture Design is many things to many people, but one of its pillars is a set of three ethics. These as originally laid out by Bill Mollison...
by Peter McIntosh | Jun 16, 2015 | Adobe, African Vernacular Architecture, Clay, Cob, Community, Guest post, Heritage, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Rammed Earth, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Thermal performance, Uncategorized
In this guest post by Jon Sojkowski, he chronicles common misperceptions of African vernacular architecture and how it is being abandoned for the status that comes with living in conventional Western style buildings. He asks whether these modern materials are truly...
by Laurie Simpson | Aug 24, 2014 | Guest post, Laurie Simpson, Student build story
Discover how mud dancing helped Laurie overcome the challenges she encountered building a natural home for her family in Zimbabwe.
