Deforestation is one of the most dramatic threats to environmental equilibrium and food safety in many regions of the world, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It is enhanced by many kinds of human activities, among which is the earth brick firing process, that needs large amounts of wood for attaining and maintaining temperatures required during this process. Crude earthen bricks can be used as an alternative for buildings, with environmental benefits; however, the economical and social sustainability of this building technique is linked to the improvement of the brick production technology, based on a deeper knowledge of the local resources. For this reason, a partnership was developed between an Italian University and a Cameroonian one for valorizing crude earth as building material in the Logone valley, located at the border between Chad and Cameroon: this way, the knowledge of the local context owned by the Cameroonian university was an added value to the technical skills of both universities, driving the choices made during the project. The Cameroonian university carried out mainly morphological and geotechnical analyses on soils, in order to choose the best site for brick production in the region; the Italian university designed and followed the realization of a machine for improving brick production. As a result, a pilot plant for crude earth brick production was installed.
INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOR VALORIZING CRUDE EARTH AS BUILDING MATERIAL IN CHAD AND CAMEROON
MAZZU', Angelo;PALAZZINI, Daniela;VITALI, Francesco
2014-01-01
Abstract
Deforestation is one of the most dramatic threats to environmental equilibrium and food safety in many regions of the world, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It is enhanced by many kinds of human activities, among which is the earth brick firing process, that needs large amounts of wood for attaining and maintaining temperatures required during this process. Crude earthen bricks can be used as an alternative for buildings, with environmental benefits; however, the economical and social sustainability of this building technique is linked to the improvement of the brick production technology, based on a deeper knowledge of the local resources. For this reason, a partnership was developed between an Italian University and a Cameroonian one for valorizing crude earth as building material in the Logone valley, located at the border between Chad and Cameroon: this way, the knowledge of the local context owned by the Cameroonian university was an added value to the technical skills of both universities, driving the choices made during the project. The Cameroonian university carried out mainly morphological and geotechnical analyses on soils, in order to choose the best site for brick production in the region; the Italian university designed and followed the realization of a machine for improving brick production. As a result, a pilot plant for crude earth brick production was installed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
