Located in Rwinkwavu, Rwanda, this four-bedroom single family house is an affordable, environmentally sustainable replicable housing model that promotes community enhancement, safe and healthy living conditions, economic growth and poverty reduction.

The prototype was constructed for $10,000 USD by the design/build team of Sharon Davis Design & Rwanda Village Enterprises. The key to affordability was efficient design and construction using locally available materials and handmade methodologies, including Compressed Earth Blocks. Using soil directly from the site as a source of material for building construction eliminated the cost of material transportation. Engaging local labor, including 30% female workers, in the construction process promoted community engagement and created jobs. Skills learned by local craftspeople creates future economic opportunities and improveslocal construction standards.

This prototype house features several key environmental design features that foster comfortable living conditions. Overhangs at the front and rear porches passively draw fresh air into the building and exhaust it through acleretory window that runs across the length of the roof, a feature which also providesdaylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting. A composting toilet provides a water-free, clean, safe, and economical way to manage waste and generate fertilizer for small-scale agriculture.

Material Used :
1. Foundations: mortared, locally-quarried stone
2. Floors: cast concrete slabs
3. Walls: handmade compressed earth blocks using local soils, finished with earthen plaster
4. Screen: hand-woven eucalptus
5. Roof framing: timber
6. Roofing: Ruliba clay tiles