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The need for shelter is a fundamental necessity. Adequate planning, design and construction methods are key. Matters to consider include optimum use of local labour, using locally produced building materials, and construction techniques that are affordable, manageable and of best interest to the local community.

-- Practical Action



  1. Key Resource 01-01-2006 The A-Frame Level is a simple, yet accurate tool used for constructing contours on a hillside or slope. It is useful in the basic construction of hillside farming systems, such as the SALT systems, as well as for establishing level contours and drainage ditches. Level contours on a slope reduce...
  2. 20-01-2007 Used motor oil is used to "paint" poles for a fence or poles for houses (mud hut construction) or to "paint" the roofing timbers.
  3. Geoffrey Wheeler,Center for Vocational Building Technology Appropriate Construction Technologies for God's People, their Animals and Grain There are many appropriate building technologies available. How environmental friendly are they? Earthquake resistant? Typhoon resistant? How can we introduce...
  4. 19-05-1998 Advice about milling lumber from tropical trees.
  5. Abstract, World Agroforestry, 2014 Many rural households in developing countries feed their animals on the leaves of trees. In pastoral areas of sub-Saharan Africa, three-quarters of the 10,000 tree and woody species, are used as fodder, supplying up to 50 per cent of livestock feed. This...
  6. 29-10-1997 Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), we all know, is the proud owner of the distinction "Tree of Life." The tree provides mankind with food, shelter, furniture, novelty items, fuelwood, household implements, and important industrial products. In the Philippines, the decade of the 80's saw lumber from...
  7. Abstract, Scientific Research, 2019 Many timber producing countries generate more than 2 million m3of sawdust annually. In developing countries, sawdust is often disposed of by open dumping, open burning, or dumping in landfills. This poses huge environmental challenges related to air pollution,...
  8. 20-10-2013
  9. 02-10-2013
  10. 01-10-2019 This presentation is a summary version of the information provided during the Mae Mut Garden workshops minus the practical aspect. We aim to show that natural building is a very easy technique to learn and requires no special skills, as well as having a number of environmental and financial...
  11. The need for shelter is a fundamental necessity. Adequate planning, design and construction methods are key. Matters to consider include optimum use of local labour, using locally produced building materials, and construction techniques that are affordable, manageable and of best interest to the...
  12. 20-01-2011 This book is an effort by FAO to compile an up-to-date, comprehensive text on rural structures and services in the tropics, focusing on structures for small- to medium-scale farms and, to some extent, village-scale agricultural infrastructure. The earlier edition, entitled Farm structures in...
  13. Key Resource 01-01-1993 Third Revised Edition This standard building materials sourcebook summarizes technical data and practical information and identifies appropriate solutions to any given problem in low-cost construction.
  14. Access Agriculture Training Video Farmers in Kenya show us how they build a rabbit house using simple materials. Because rabbits do not sweat or pant to cool down, they will suffer in direct sun. It is therefore best to put a rabbit house in the shade. A raised house helps to protect the rabbits...
  15. Properly constructed and operated brick kilns are without doubt one of the most effective methods of charcoal production. They have proved themselves over decades of use to be low in capital cost, moderate in labour requirements and capable of giving surprisingly good yields of quality charcoal...
  16. The Tropical Products Institute (TPI), a scientific unit of the Overseas Development Administration, has gained considerable experience in operating transportable metal kilns of various designs both in the U.K. and in many developing countries. The Institute has evolved a kiln design which is...
  17. 05-10-2017 This presentation is a summary version of the information provided during the Mae Mut Garden workshops minus the practical aspect. We aim to show that natural building is a very easy technique to learn and requires no special skills, as well as having a number of environmental and financial...
  18. 03-10-2017 There are many appropriate building technologies available. How environmentally friendly are they? Earthquake resistant? Typhoon resistant? How can we introduce new materials to a traditional construction culture? Why would we want to produce our own materials? How can we make production...
  19. 03-10-2017 There are many appropriate building technologies available. How environmentally friendly are they? Earthquake resistant? Typhoon resistant? How can we introduce new materials to a traditional construction culture? Why would we want to produce our own materials? How can we make production...
  20. 01-01-1992 2 Copies "A Garden Way Publishing book." Constructing your own small barn, shed, or utility structure will improve the value and appearance of your property whether you have one acre or a hundred. Plus, building it yourself can save as much as half the cost. Now expert help for the...
  21. 20-01-2015 How to Build Chicken Coops will arm you with the right knowledge and know-how to scout an appropriate site, outfit your tool belt with the necessary equipment, and finally build a comfy and cozy home for your fledgling flock. Raising chickens is a rewarding endeavor and knowing how to keep them...
  22. Key Resource 28-10-2007 A former UN worker and prominent architect, Johan van Lengen has seen firsthand the desperate need for a "greener" approach to housing in impoverished tropical climates. This comprehensive book clearly explains every aspect of this endeavor, includingdesign (siting, orientation, climate...
  23. According toFuture Cities Laboratories, steel is not irreplaceable. There’s a material alternative that grows in the tropical zone of our planet, an area that coincides closely with the developing world: bamboo.Bamboo belongs to the botanical family of grasses and is extremely resistant to...
  24. Materials2022,15(5), 1689;https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051689 Published: 24 February 2022 Abstract The gradual development of government policies for ecological transition in the modern construction sector leads researchers to explore new alternative and low environmental impact materials with a...
  25. 01-01-1981 A thorough, step-by-step book of basic carpentry projects and techniques that helps readers save money while improving their homes.Projects include everything from installing crown molding to hanging a door.Full-color illustrations show every project step so readers quickly grasp the...
  26. Virtually all small-scale development activities—including aspects of housing, sanitation, water supply, roads, schools, community centers, storage silos healthcare, energy—involve construction. USAID’s global construction and rehabilitation portfolio includes small projects (e.g., individual...
  27. 01-01-1990 The majority of farmers in the world still practise some form of subsistence farming. Their draught-animal and handwork-based farming practices, however, cannot be compared with the completely mechanised and highly automated precision-farming practices that are becoming the norm for many of their...
  28. AVN deploys an innovatory model of development based on the principle that it is better to “ ...teach a man how to fish rather than give him fish”, applied to the entire structure of the housing market and the construction sector. If it is better to teach people how to build a house rather than...