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This nonprofit teaches communities how to build homes out of straw, clay and soil

This nonprofit has been helping people build affordable homes by using materials like clay, straw and soil, as a way to ease the financial strains within the community.

Emily Niehaus founded Community Rebuilds, a nonprofit teaching people how to build affordable homes using soil, clay or straw when she saw the need for affordable and sustainable housing within her community.

The project started in the American state of Utah and has since spread to southwestern Colorado and the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, helping construct 25 homes in four communities. The ultimate goal of the organization is to expand knowledge about valuable natural building skills.

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The homes use natural materials – straw, soil, clay, as well as employing passive design techniques. Various green technologies, such as soar arrays and adobe floors, are widely used within the homes.

The project also includes interns that stay for a 5-month internship, during which they build homes in exchange for educations, housing and food.

Lydia Peirce

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