A safe home for a family

Without a safe, comfortable roof over their heads, everyday life becomes hard, even impossible

The problem

Imagine it's 45° outside and the heat is exhausting. You go indoors to get out of the sun, and the temperature climbs to 50°. You can barely breathe. Your home, built from sheets of corrugated iron, should be your refuge, but in the end it's unusable for you and your loved ones. This is daily life for millions of families in sub-Saharan Africa, who live in extremely harsh conditions. They lack the money and the technical means to build a decent home, even though solutions exist that could ease their hardship…

THE SOLUTION: AN ANCIENT TECHNIQUE 3000 YEARS OLD

There is a simple, effective ancestral African solution that was used for centuries, then forgotten in favour of unsuitable, polluting materials: building homes from raw earth.

This way of building is affordable 💰, eco-friendly 🌳 and long-lasting 🌍, offering a real alternative to expensive, imported building materials.

Building raw-earth homes helps protect the environment by using local soil and cutting carbon emissions.

I'LL GIVE

30+ years
lifespan

7 °C
cooler

≈ 25 m2
of living space

30+ years
lifespan

''Before, when I came back from the fields in the blazing sun, I couldn't face going into my house because it was far too hot inside. I'd already rebuilt my corrugated-iron house 5 times because of the bad weather. Today, my family and I feel sheltered and safe in our new earth home.''

Mr Bonkoungou
Farmer

Help a family

Farm storage building

Support of

€12,000

*€11.22 (after tax deduction)

I'll help a family

≈ 80m² of storage for a village's harvests
For ≈ 300 villagers
20% more of the harvest saved
Lower inflation

Building a home

Support of

€2,000

*€11.22 (after tax deduction)

I'll help a family

You fund an entire home for 1 family living in poverty
For 1 family (≈ 5 people)
≈ 25 m² of living space

Help towards building a home

Support of

€500

*€11.22 (after tax deduction)

I'll help a family

You give 1 family financial help to build their home
For 1 family (≈ 5 people)
≈ 25 m² of living space

*Every donation qualifies for French tax relief equal to 66% of the amount given, up to 20% of your taxable income

Where we work

Taking action for change

Cost

Building with raw earth is cheaper than conventional building methods. The materials are local and inexpensive, which cuts transport and labour costs.

Durability

Raw-earth buildings are sturdy and can last for decades. Their thick walls provide good thermal insulation, which is essential for storing harvests.

Comfort

Raw-earth buildings keep a steady indoor temperature, which matters for preserving food and crops. They also stand up well to bad weather and fire.

Ecology

Building with raw earth is an eco-friendly solution, as it uses local, natural materials and so reduces the impact on the environment.