EcoSur: Concrete Roof Tiles, puzolanic cement, earth houses, ecomaterials

Skip to content

April 2003

Guatemalan tile producers meet in Chimaltenango

On the second Saturday of March, 19 representatives from different workshops in Guatemala met in Chimaltenango with Kurt Rhyner from Grupo Sofonias who was visiting Guatemala. One of the central points was the discussion of a recently finished clients survey, which shows that 92% of the customers are fully satisfied with their roof and only 2% would not use it again.

Las Mélidas hosts El Salvador producers meeting

Two weeks after the meeting with Guatemala tile producrs, a similar meeting took place in San Salvador, at the headquarters of the womens association Las Mélidas. More than thirty people from seven workshops discussed their problems and successes and were able to benefit from the presence and wide experience of EcoSouth expert Kurt Rhyner.

Fernando Martirena with Ecuadorian professionals

One of Ecosouth´s top expert, Dr.Prof. Fernando Martirena of CIDEM, was able to share his knowledge with various organizations in Ecuador. Not only professional organization of architects and engineers were able to take advantage of his visit to Ecuador, also various universities and professors.

The Andes through Caribbean eyes

Fernando Martirena

The arrival at Guayaquil confused this traveler, who had expected to encounter Andean landscapes. Instead he encountered a strong costal accent, similar to what anyone would say of Caribbean cities. The high volume of construction made an impact, although the locals say that “this sector is somewhat low”.

Synergies in adobe project: women´s association and university students

Swiss Workers´Aid and the national women´s association are promoting the construction of forty adobe (sun-dried clay bricks) houses in a small village in El Salvador. The architectural faculty of the National University is cooperating with the design and two students who are in charge of the onsite management. An EcoSur expert in clay construction visited the project together with a lecturer from the university and in intensive discussions it was possible to introduce several small improvement that will cut down costs without lowering safety standards.