From 2019-2021, Semillas worked on a nursery school in Alto Anapati, Peru. The development process was carried out through participatory workshops, which led to the idea of the school as the heart of the community, a place for the preservation of Nomatsigenga knowledge and territory. The building itself is located in an accessible area to the community and is organized into two blocks. On the southwest side is located the block containing the multipurpose room, the administrative area, the kitchen and the toilets. The multipurpose room, a classroom without walls, is directly connected to the “Aula bosque” (forest classroom) – a space designed as an outdoor classroom. All the enclosures are designed as dissolving boundaries that connect the interior with the exterior. Most of the materials used in the project are locally sourced, keeping local production alive and in line with the sustainability and maintenance capabilities of the community.

Currently, Semillas is working on a primary and secondary school in the El Huabo community of Peru. The first school in El Huabo was founded in 1973 and the first classrooms were built out of wood through the efforts of the parents of the community. Today, however, the school has a demolition order due to the lack of structural integrity. The project proposal consists of 2 blocks of classrooms, one for the primary school and one for the secondary school, located on the north and south sides of the school grounds, respectively. The hallways are usable spaces and are furnished with benches and exhibition walls. The multi-purpose module opens fully to two large gardens for both the primary and secondary schools.

The post Semillas para el Desarrollo Sostenible appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Though Frayne’s business model relies on licensing his clean tech innovation to the United States, China, and other large nations, the Windbelt was conceived with the developing world in mind.  Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes.

Today, Frayne continues to explore clean energy alternatives through his companies Humdinger Wind Energy, LLC and Haddock Invention. Recent projects include the Solar Pocket Factory, a small machine that could enable local, cost-effective production of micro solar panels.

The post Shawn Frayne appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

In 2015, after the earthquake in Nepal, RootStudio was invited to design and build a model house. Using local, accessible materials, they built two prototype houses out of bamboo and partitions, via a collaboration between locals and volunteers that came to the region. The prototypes respond to the need for quickly-built housing with the goal of providing independence and immediate shelter, while simultaneously introducing basic building techniques. 

As a part of the process, members of the community learn skills they need to reproduce the project themselves. The bamboo structure can be adapted, enlarged, or even be built on a larger scale due to the introduction of the basic bamboo connections.

More recently, from September 2018 to April 2019, RootStudio and architect Paz Braga worked on the design of an academy to be used by a non-profit organization, Girl Move, which empowers women in vulnerable contexts. Previously, the organization, which delivers 3 main programs to approximately 1,130 women and girls yearly, had been working between two buildings in Nampula, Mozambique without all requirements necessary to best help their clients. The design had to allow enough room for the team at Girl Move to operate in one place. Beyond functionality, RootStudio wanted the building to inspire others, utilizing innovation and sustainability while valuing local resources and knowledge.

Once completed, the project had a great impact on the community, the University, and the region as a whole. 85% of the building was made with brick, produced locally using traditional techniques. Students and community members were invited to participate in the building process, allowing knowledge to be shared. Additionally, the use of the earth in the construction granted dignity to a material normally considered to be “poor material.”

While RootStudio is based in Mexico, the team have now worked all over the world, including in locations such as Nepal, Mozambique, India, Azores, and Morocco.

The post RootStudio appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

The process is meant to transcend a mere market transaction. Those seeking repairs do not just come by and drop off a broken item to be picked up later. Instead, the visitor and the specialist sit down together, explore the problem, and devise a solution, leading to increased social capital. 

This process is also meant to be a provocation: the culture created within a repair café encourages people to think differently about the items of their everyday life. Instead of immediately throwing something away and buying a new one, people are exposed to an alternative. Many household items are easily repaired with the right skills and tools. The process, therefore, engenders both ecological and social benefits in the setting of a relaxed café.

Beyond the original location in the Netherlands, Repair Cafés have spread to Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and dozens of other countries around the world. Currently, there are over 2,000 Repair Cafés in almost forty countries, all operated on a volunteer basis.

The post Repair Café appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

In a country where manufacturing and finance systems were underdeveloped, Proximity had to ensure its products could get where needed. In addition to the 150+ agricultural shops selling the organization’s products in villages and market towns throughout the country, Proximity Designs developed a network of sales representatives and independent agents to reach farmers who rarely traveled to town. This village-level distribution chain was so effective that Proximity Designs became a first responder when Cyclone Nargis devastated the Ayeyarwady Delta in 2008; ultimately, they delivered over $17 million in emergency aid to 1.2 million farmers.

To address credit famine, Proximity Designs offered low-risk installment loans to farmers, syncing the repayment schedule with the crop cycle. Over time, Proximity customers have seen an average annual income increase of $348. 

Today, Proximity offers low-cost and climate-smart farm technologies, agronomy advice and farm financial services. In 2018, Proximity launched Myanmar’s first affordable soil diagnostic testing kit, providing farmers with customized recommendations on the amount of fertilizer to apply to crops. This service helps farmers reduce unnecessary input use, increases farm productivity, and restores soil health. Later, Proximity began to sell Trichoderma, a biocontrol agent effective in fighting black stem and many other soil-borne fungal diseases. Trichoderma also improves soil quality, crop growth, and yields by making nutrients more available for plants. 

Proximity has also worked at the macro level, engaging in policy discussions with the Myanmar government and other stakeholders to share research and findings, facilitating dialogue around the critical issues facing Myanmar. 

As of 2022, Proximity has reached 1.3 million farm households, enabling approximately 5.6 million people in rural Myanmar to grow their farm enterprises and afford basic food, health care, and education for their families. Today, as a result of the changing political and economic landscape of the country, Proximity Designs tackles global issues such as climate change, deep poverty, food insecurity, inequality, and political conflict.

The post Proximity Designs appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Footprints E.A.R.T.H. is an Ahmedabad-based firm, led and driven by Pandya and his natural, sustainable, and context-centric design philosophies. From planning to material selection, their designs are context and user-oriented, while being sustainable and influenced by Indian traditions in architecture. Work developed by the firm ranges from architecture to campus planning to education, and each project becomes an educational tool in a campaign to help India think differently about its built environment. flooring, and fenestration elements. Projects of the organization thus address environmental concerns by reducing pollution and energy through the recycling of waste. In the process, impoverished people are empowered economically through the generation of economic opportunities, and their quality of life is improved through the development of affordable and durable alternative building products for their homes.

An example of the Footprints E.A.R.T.H. philosophy works in practice is the design of the Manav Sadhna Activity Centre and Creche, in Ahmedabad, India. Walls were constructed of fly ash instead of clay, which does not require firing, produces less pollution, and is cheaper than clay. Wooden crates, glass bottles, oil drums, rags, clay bowls, and even electronic waste (keyboards) were used as filler in several different applications. The project itself acts as a material palette that can be studied by locals and serve as inspiration for future projects.

We had a chance to interview Yatin on our podcast, Social Design Insights, where he shared with us the nuts and bolts of his approach. Listen to the episode below.

The post Yatin Pandya appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Marcin Jakubowski came up with the idea for OSE after he purchased a farm in Missouri and needed a tractor. This prompted Jakubowski to invent his own tractor in an open-source format. Eventually he and the early contributors to OSE produced a tractor that can be made in about four days for roughly $6,000 in parts; a typical tractor costs $25,000 to $120,000. The tractor success prompted OSE to create a list of other machines essential to civilization and begin designing them along the same lines.

OSE’s work is about autonomy and self-sufficiency. Developing communities are often hamstrung by the need for expensive equipment and patented technologies. OSE’s work puts productive power in the hands of communities themselves; they can design, build, and develop along the lines that are meaningful to them, even where resources are scarce.

The post Open Source Ecology appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Since becoming a Social Design Circle Honoree in 2017, BuildX has seen a 360-degree evolution. In 2020, they kicked off the year by rebranding from Orkidstudio (an NGO) to BuildX Studio (a private limited company with a strong impact mission). The new name and visual identity are a representation of the disruptive and innovative company they strive to be. Leveraging the value they had already created, the team at BuildX shifted the point of project origination to initiate impact-driven building projects which can disrupt the entrenched and damaging systems that dictate how they construct their buildings. 

BuildX aims to design and build green buildings through exceptional human-centered design solutions that prioritize natural local resources and communities. They do so by focusing on three main concepts: Innovative, cost-effective, and human-centered design—working with clients to maximize returns and impact with purpose-built buildings; acting as both designer and builder—from visioning and concept design to the finished product—to deliver the highest standards of quality while optimizing costs and timeline; and sustainable design and construction. In addition, the studio encourages inclusive skill development; not only does each project serve its intended purpose, but the work of BuildX also has the potential to change how others build in the future.

One recent project of the studio was the ICT Education Centre (2020-2021), for which Build X studio served as the structural engineer and main contractor. The center supports local entrepreneurship and youth through ICT skills training. Located in a very remote area of Turkana, Kenya, the use of local materials and the transfer of knowledge to the locals were critical during the construction process.

Currently, the studio is working as the designer, contractor, and developer of Zima Homes, an affordable housing project set to address two key issues of the Kenyan market: limited quality affordable housing and the need for more sustainable buildings. The Zima pilot aims to be EDGE certified with about 60% embodied carbon efficiency.

The post BuildX Studio (formerly Orkidstudio) appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

In addition to resurrecting the use of mud bricks, AVN also brought back a roofing technique from antiquity– the “Nubian Vault” technique, which can be traced to ancient Egypt. Sturdy homes are constructed from mud bricks made from earth and water, dried in the sun. The roofs are built with a curved, vaulted design. The resulting homes are inexpensive—around $1000 US (less if the homeowner creates his or her own bricks), and avoid further depletion of timber resources.  The roofs can last for up to fifty years if well maintained.

The technique is simple enough to be taught to laypeople. With proper training, one can move from novice to master ­builder in only a couple of months. This allows for the creation of livelihoods and reduces dependency on professionals who might not be available in remote communities. According to recent statistics, AVN has trained close to 400 masons with many more working as apprentices.

The work of AVN mines history to create a sustainable future. In areas of scarce resources, looking back to a time before industrialization and modernization can truly pay off.

The post The Association La Voûte Nubienne appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Inteligencias Colectivas’ work operates at all scales. Depending on the context, the group works with furniture, installations, public infrastructure, and architectural projects. These are usually self-initiated­ by collective members, ensuring that each project is rooted in a local context. The use of found objects and waste streams is heavily emphasized as a budgetary consideration and as a formative ethos of the group.

The projects are then featured on the collective website, with plans, instructions, narratives and diagrams, so that the strategies involved can be recycled into new projects in other contexts. Their work is perfectly captured by their name: their efforts are done to capture the collective intelligence of a world full of social designers, all working at the grassroots level.

The post Inteligencias Colectivas appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.