Sustainable Construction: Bricks from Clay and Coconut Fiber? Wood is no longer a sustainable building material in Bocas - it's already being brought in from Honduras and even overseas. Another popular building material is cement -- there are a couple of backyard cinder block producers in Almirante. But the cost of transporting them is very high. Meanwhile, we have materials on the farm that could be used to make bricks from local materials: We have lots of coconut fiber, and very fine clay, very close to the dock. So, one idea is to make bricks, or perhaps experiment with building walls by applying a proper mix directly. Whoever does this will have to experiment - here is a starting point: If we get this to work and teach it to locals, we could make a contribution to sustainable construction techniques, and it could become a livelihood for some local people. This site: is great, by the way... The Philippines really have their shit together for promoting small scale entrepreneurship and eco technology. |