Sustainable Housing for Rural Families in Africa

The first building of the NV Fouta project completed!

The Mboloyel health centre, the first completed building in the NV Fouta project in Senegal, was handed over on March 30th 2018 by the Kawral Association (contractor), in the presence of local actors (institutional, technical, civil society, beneficiaries etc.), the project partners (the VN Fouta team, Maison des Yvelines) and builder Habitat Moderne.

This building of 89 m2 was completed rapidly in three months by the entrepreneur Richard Somda (Habitat Moderne) and his highly effective team of 9 NV masons (including one young man from the village who wanted to be trained).

The Conseil Départemental of Matam, represented by M. Hamidou Sow, responsible for cooperation, repeated his commitment to help villages in the construction of community buildings, and to furnish the new health centre as soon as possible with the equipment it needs.

The president of the Kawral Assciation shared his satisfaction on behalf of the entire village: « We were reticent to begin with, but after visiting the Maison des Yvelines we were convinced. We are very satisfied with the quality and comfort of the building, and the speed with which it was completed. We have now discovered another technique for earth construction and are proud to benefit from this NV health centre.»

Two other buildings are under construction as part of the NV Fouta project: Matam County Hall and a maternity clinic at Polel.

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The Mayor of Ouagadougou to be involved in deployment of the NV

At the end of March, the Mayor of Ouagadougou, Armand Roland Pierre Béouindé, and Thomas Granier, CEO of AVN, signed a partnership agreement which aims to accelerate the the diffusion of adapted construction techniques in Burkina Faso, and in particular in the conurbation of Ouagadougou.

This partnership comes under the aegis of the Politique Nationale de l’Habitat et du Développement Urbain (PNHDU), linked to the Plan National de Développement Économique et Social du Gouvernement (PNDES). These political orientations imply a choice of ecologically responsible techniques adapted to local populations and economies, such as the NV, for the construction of public and community buildings.

At the present time in Burkina Faso (and more generally in the Sahel), adaptation of the construction sector is necessary and tends to attract sponsors and hence financial backing. This implies:

• greater use of locally resourced construction materials,
• reduction of the need for imported materials with a high negative environmental impact,
• significant improvements in passive thermal and hygrometric performance and users’ comfort levels,

including a varied range of architectural proposals and competitive costs.

There are plans to construct some demonstration buildings and help support the training of technical staff from the construction sector.

This three-year partnership will:

• promote the inclusion of adaptation of the construction sector in the development plans for Ouagadougou;
• respond appropriately to the construction needs of the conurbation;
• help train and accompany technical staff of the municipality in charge of the sector, as well as artisans, construction firms, and other relevant actors;
• help preserve and highlight the country’s architectural heritage;
• involve advocacy and awareness raising activities for political decision-makers, development operators, and international cooperation partners.

AVN is delighted with the perspectives for this new collaboration. Partnerships with national and local authorities are levers for accelerating the diffusion of the NV concept and for multiplying the impacts responding to local development challenges.

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Benin: increasing awareness among farmer communities

On April 12, 2018, AVN Bénin welcomed members of the executive offices of communal and departmental Farmers’ Unions, among which:

• The departmental union of township cooperatives for cotton producers (UDCVPC);
• The communal union of township cooperatives for cotton producers (UcomCVPC);
• The regional union of cooperatives for Djougou rice producers (URCPR-D);
• The communal union of cooperatives for cashew nut producers (UCCPA);
• The communal union of cooperatives for seed producers.

The aim of the meeting was to identify dynamic and interested Farmers’ Unions with a capacity to assist AVN in spreading the VN concept among their communities (the villagers that constitute AVN’s target population). Ideas for collaboration were drafted with the rice producers from Djougou (URCPR-D), and with the cashew nut producers (UCCPA), who wish to build AVN structures for their offices.

The Nubian Vault technique has been generally well received by farmer communities because it provides solutions to various rural issues (economical structures that are adapted to needs and uses, create job, and strengthen the local economy) and improves the yield and working conditions of those who use it.

As an illustration, the meeting’s participants had the opportunity to visit the AVN offices in Djougou, a recently inaugurated model structure (read the news here).

For AVN, the next step for the coming weeks will be to meet the board of each organization to develop already existing ideas and to imagine new ones.