Introduction to Woodless construction…

… constructing quality buildings using unfired earth bricks and vault and dome roofs.
No cement, no presses, no corrugated iron

Using woodless construction techniques, the builders trained by DW can undertake a wide range of buildings, from simple single-room forms to high quality villas and offices.

Using woodless construction has many advantages…

• Protects the environment, saves trees, because no wood is used in the building – a climate change bonus!
• Addresses poverty, because it generates local revenue by using local labour and local materials, thus benefiting the local economy
• Provides an exceptional degree of natural, ecological climate comfort.
• Avoids the need to obtain costly permits for cutting wood
• Achieves decent and sustainable housing
• Offers a flexible building system responding to each persons resources : the owner can decide on the quality of interior and exterior finishings, which can be basic or very high quality.
  

And in the Sahel?

Woodless construction has existed in the Sahel since 1980. Using the training programme developed by DWF, hundreds of builders have been trained in Niger, in Mali, in Mauritania and in Burkina Faso, and many hundreds more buildings have been constructed.

DW and DWBF

Development Workshop is a French not for profit association working in the field of international solidarity. DW is also locally registered in Burkina Faso as DWBF, and has been active in Burkina Faso since 1995.

DW aims to improve the living conditions of the poor in the least developed communities of the world by reducing damage and difficulties arising from environmental, demographic and human change or from natural disasters.

At the heart of DW’s activities is training and the development of local skills and capacities to address the problems of shelter and of the environment on which we all depend.
DW works notably in Africa and in Asia, through its offices in Angola, in Burkina Faso, in Mali, and in Viet Nam, as well as in France and in Canada.
In the countries of the Sahel, DW has promoted the development of sustainable housing and human establishments based on respect for existing values and on the availability of human, material and financial resources which are fundamental to a durable approach and to good management of the natural resources of the region. Needs and the availability of resources of the countries of West Africa are changing rapidly: systems which have proved their viability over the course of centuries are often unable today to meet current needs or to match the resources available. It is in this context that DWF promotes sustainable approaches for a form of development which can serve the people as part of a changing process.

In the Sahel, promoting “woodless construction’ has been the main focus of DW’s activities since 1980, and in Burkina Faso since 1995. The term “woodless construction” designates techniques originating in Egypt and in Iran which enable one to build roofs for traditional housing without using wood, a major factor in the destruction of the forests of the region and in accelerating desertification. Around this activity, DW develops the building skills of young people, supports the activities of female potters, develops structures for economic activities and encourages local income generation helping to brake the rural exodus. The promotion of woodless construction in Niger, in Mali and in Burkina Faso was been recognised by the World Habitat Award in 1998. DW works in close collaboration with the inhabitants of towns and villages in the region, with local authorities and with other NGO partners for the realisation of school and administrative buildings.