Tlholego Ecovillage:

A Sustainable Development Project in Rural South Africa

Housing

The idea of using the sweat equity (labor) of the end user of the building to reduce costs is not new. It is generally recognized that up to 50 percent of the building costs can be saved by owner building, even using conventional materials. The degree to which savings can be achieved is dependant on the skill of the owner-builder, and/or the degree of skill needed for particular building materials or technique.  

Choosing materials and techniques particularly suited to the owner-builder (i.e., easy to use or learn to use) will increase the savings. The savings can also be increased by careful selection of low-cost materials, which can be made or collected by the owner-builder.  While this building system is ideally suited to the owner-builder, it is equally well-suited to support the development of small and micro-enterprises. 

As an owner-build system, it is cheaper than many so-called low-cost housing schemes that require bricks, mortar and services, and it is well suited to rural conditions. 

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Fanki Mokgokolo, first owner-builder at Tlholego

In a low-cost, owner-build situation, unburned earth bricks can be made in a simple wooden mold.  The mudbricks are made out of subsoil.  Depending on the particular soil type, straw can be added for reinforcement to the wet mud and left to soak in a pit over night.  The mud straw is then pushed into the molds to form bricks, and is dried for approximately four days.  All the bricks (approximately 25,000) used in the TBS houses have been manufactured in this way.  It is easy to mechanize this process in situations where large numbers of houses will be constructed. 

After solid foundations are set in place using appropriate materials, the mudbrick walls are laid in a conventional manner.  Roofs are tied deep into the walls using wall plates and hoop iron straps. Finished walls are rubbed down with water and smoothed until all cracks disappear.  

A mixture of linseed oil and turpentine is then applied to make the walls more water-resistant.  Wide roof overhangs provide additional protection.  Where poor soils exist, blending the soil with either more clay or sand, depending on the conditions, can increase durability.  Shade extensions can be attached to the most vulnerable sides on the house and vines or trees can be grown to create protection from driving rains.

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Fanki creates mudbricks

Master brickmaker Thampoki Dinnloane has personally manufactured some 10,000 mudbricks that have been used in the contruction of TBS houses

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