By Nancy Wynne | co-founder
A good floor is about health and comfort and general well being. The first home that I was a party to building in Guatemala was for the family of Olga and Teodoro. Olga was pregnant at the time with her 4th child and was so delighted that this would be the first child to not have a dirt floor to eat.
If you've been following Guatemala Housing Alliance's facebook page and website you'll know that 14 months ago we made the big leap to more sustainable building. Cement production is a huge burden on the environment and we chose to change from building cement block homes to building the walls with local natural products: a frame of cypress or bamboo, cane, adobe mud, pumice from the neighboring volcanos, lime, pine needles. The floor, though, has remained of cement because we haven't yet found a suitable, easy to maintain, and inexpensive alternative. This very month we are doing our first experiments with natural floors, and we'll let you know how they go.
How to do well while doing good? How to be gentle to the earth while housing vulnerable people?
Thanks you for your support. It is life changing.
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