Yesterday I had the good fortune of meeting Etienne and Lalaina from CRATERRE based in Grenoble, France who are earthen workers on mission here to develop insulation panels made from the invasive reed called TIFA together with cob to add onto existing concrete block buildings to cool the interior and reduce air conditioning. A bit of a joke, right? Well they are making do with what is existing, a pain in the butt but realistic.
I also met Doudou Deme who is a young and up and coming entrpreneur who runs ELEMENTERRE who runs a compressed earthen brick outfit (6% cement for stabilization and quicker drying) and is busy building for folks. He mentioned that his clients are not ready for COB yet, they see 100% earth as backwards and not durable.
Wait till we build the first “modern-looking” cob house and they see how cheap the materials are. This is so important here and in all the “Third World” countries where concrete is sadly ubiquitous and seen as the only option!
Afidi’s Nubian Vaults enclosed in compressed earthen bricks (laterite, clay and 6% cement)
