F.L.O.E.! (For the Love of Earthbags!) is a design project in rural Nepal that is bringing the sustainable building method of earthbag construction to mountain communities. The project is an initiative led by architect Travis Hughbanks and supported by Edge of Seven and Architecture for Humanity Denver in partnership with the local community of Basa, Nepal. The final product will be a higher secondary school in the village of Basa. Through an interactive design project, the initiative aims to prove that it’s possible to approach high-design in a manner that is tasteful, modern, and groundbreaking by using only the most basic materials, such as the dirt beneath our feet. According to the World Bank, 30 percent of Nepalis live in poverty and this population is most concentrated in rural areas where people survive off of agriculture and subsistence farming. For Basa the earthbags offer an opportunity to improve rural educational infrastructure and combat poverty in the most low-cost, efficient and sustainable way possible.

+ F.L.O.E.

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Post tags: Architecture for Humanity, building methods for developing countries, earth architecture, earth building, earth wall construction, earthbag construction, f.l.o.e.!, floe, For the Love of Earthbags!, Green Building, sustainable building methods