Senegal: opening of a new program in the Podor Region
The Association "le Partenariat St-Louis Région Nord - PSLR" coordinates links between the French Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, and the region of St-Louis in Senegal, and is also AVN’s franchise partner in Senegal.
Two PSLR members (Bachir Niang et Malyck Sy) went to Burkina Faso in October to take part in the opening congress of the 2011/12 construction season, and to complete their training as AVN extension agents.
Thomas Granier, AVN Operations Director, is in Senegal now to help in the start-up of this new program, which, in the next few years, will pump-prime the market for NV housing in the Podor region - birthplace of the famous Senegalese musician, Baaba Maal.
November 16th, 2011
Launch of the 2011-2012 Construction Season
Sub-regional seminar in Boromo
A sub-regional seminar was organized in Boromo (Burkina Faso) early October to prepare for the 2011-12 season. The local AVN-Burkina and AVN-Mali teams took part, as well as Thomas Granier, Bruno Jarno (AVN statistician) and representatives of our franchised partners from Benin and Senegal.
Congresses in Burkina Faso and Mali
These meetings opened the construction season in the two countries, bringing together local ’champions’, community leaders, and AVN masons, to plan and schedule the season’s programs.
Work on the first VN building sites have now started, but will intensify in January , when farming work tails off. However, this year, the rains have been less than usual, demonstrating yet again the fragility of the environment of the Sahel. This season’s harvest is likely to be reduced, which probably means that construction activity will also be affected.
September 19th, 2011
Opening of the AVN-Mali office in Segou
The new AVN team in Mali moved into its dedicated office space in the Cultural Centre in Pelengana, Segou, on September 1st. The Cultural Centre was built by a team of VN masons last year, and is well situated close to the Mairie in Pelengana.
The AVN team at present consists of Ismaila Diallo (Assistant Director), Souleymane Koné (Extension Agent), assisted by Francis Tiene, on secondment from the AVN team in Boromo, Burkina Faso., and Mathieu Hardy, architect and acting Director. A second extension agent will be recruited by the end of the year.
The team is now working on the setting up of the second three-year phase of the AVN program in Mali, with a major focus on the region around Segou. This phase kicked off with a very successful congress of the VN masons from Mali, and a meeting of the local ’champions’ of the existing pilot village deployment programs, both held in the second fortnight of October in Pelengana.
November 15th, 2011
Southampton University International Development Conference
Tony Kaye was invited to present AVN’s Earth Roofs in the Sahel program at the International Development Conference held at the University of Southampton (UK) November 4th last. The many images of Voute Nubienne buildings, and of the VN concept, attracted a great deal of interest. Tony ended his presentation with an illustrated slide show summarising the program’s impacts to date, based on a similar presentation in French by our colleague Bruno Jarno (you can download it by clicking here).
November 10th, 2011
New President and Vice-President of AVN elected
At the last meeting of the AVN General Assembly, held in September, Régis Poudevigne stood down after two years as President, to be replaced by Tony Kaye, with David Sillou (on the right) as Vice-President. Tony and David have been closely involved in the AVN program for many years, and are looking forward to working together in these new roles.
The other members elected to the Conseil d’Administration are Jean-Marie Crombez (Treasurer), Jean-Francois Naud (Secretary), Régis Poudevigne, Thomas Granier, Gérard Herrero, Gérard Douchet, and Annelies Hollewand.
October 30th, 2011
News from Zambia
Two experienced masons (Camille Sanon and Karim Ouedrago) and a coordinator/manager (Adama Guira) travelled from Burkina Faso in May for a period of six months, to launch the second year of our pilot program in this ZAmbia.
By the end of October, 5 houses are nearing completion, two in the village of Mutakwa, one in Kayoba, and two in Fringilla, along the road going from Mutakwa to Kabwe.
House in Mutakwa
The houses in Fringilla will initially serve as show-houses in the region, as part of our strategy to publicize the AVN program, and to attract the attention of potential sponsors / investors, such as NGO’s involved in helping families gain access to decent housing. The first of these houses has already been completed in a record time: less than 3 weeks.
House in Fringillla under construction, with Camille Sanon and his team
Jean Stasse, President of AVN Belgium, travelled to Zambia and Botswana late August and made contacts with local NGO’s (involved in housing for many years in Zambia) who could become potential partners. They have shown great interest in the AVN concept, based on the advantages in terms of lower costs, superior insulation, environmental respect, long life etc, compared to the alternatives. Contacts have also been taken with potential clients in preparation for the next season (2012) as well as with potential sponsors.
Starting a new housing concept in another country, with a different language and culture, is not an easy task. People have to be convinced. This takes time and efforts but we are confident that AVN concept will be a success in the southern African region.
October 10th, 2011
Some Really Good News: the latest data on the impacts of AVN’s program
Bruno Jarno, one of AVN’s collaborators, has collected together and analysed the latest information on AVN’s ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ program in a comprehensive ’Dashboard’ report ( the Tableau de bord 2010-2011).
The report is in French, but its main findings are summarised below:
Since the start of the program, 1309 vaults have been built by Nubian vault (NV) masons and entrepreneurs, for 533 clients, in 244 locations (villages, hamlets, towns) in 3 countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal)
If all the vaults built were to be placed end-to-end, this would reach a total length of 9.7 km (Note: a standard vault , our unit of measurement, has internal dimensions of 7M long X 3,25 M wide)
In total, 214 NV masons have been trained, of whom half are at the foreman and/or entrepreneur level; and there are currently 296 apprentices in training
10,000 people use, live in, or sleep in NV buildings; of the total built, 85% are for private houses, and 15% are community-use buildings.
Approximately 18,000 trees, 25,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent, and approximately 15,000 corrugated iron roofing sheets have been saved as a result of NV construction, as compared to the alternatives
Approximately 750,000 Euros of local economic impacts have been generated by the program
Since 2000 the program has experienced an average annual growth rate of 36%.
One of the most encouraging findings in Bruno’s report is that over one-third of the NV construction market is now completely autonomous and self-sustaining: 37% of NV clients are found directly by NV builders / entrepreneurs. Of the remainder, 40% come via a local intermediary or ’champion’, and only 23% via AVN itself. So, in the regions where AVN is active, we are well on the way to a growing and independent market in NV construction, permitting us to soon move on and target our resources in new regions.
October 7th, 2011
A prize-winning photo from AVN
A photo of a Nubian Vault site taken by Antoine Horellou (AVN Development Director) has been chosen as best photo in the category ’Earth architecture in the world’ in an international competition on images of earth architecture: the 10° Concorso Fotografico Internazionale "Le case di Terra paesaggio di architettura".
September 12th, 2011
Nubian Vault mosques: a launching pad for development of Muslim communities in the Sahel
At the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, all of us at AVN send our best wishes to all Muslims, and we use this opportunity to propose a program for promoting the VN concept, founded on the construction of mosques for the benefit of the rural populations of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Many of these communities have significant Muslim populations, mainly poor farmers who do not have the means to purchase imported building materials (cement, steel, beams, corrugated iron...) for the construction of their community buildings. By using the VN technique for the construction of mosques, these communities can benefit from a comfortable, aesthetic, durable, architecture, and, at fhe same time, have members of the community trained in the VN technique.
Contributions from Muslims wishing to help their poorer brothers and sisters in the Sahel to obtain new mosques, and get training in learning the VN technique to build better housing for their communities, will be very welcome.
Contact mail : Batoul.Kazwini@lavoutenubienne.org
The PDF files below contain a brochure, in Arabic, French, and English, about the use of the VN technique for mosque construction: please feel free to download these for more information.
11-06-22_presentation-mosquees-arabe-general_bk.pdf
11-06-22_presentation-mosquees-francais-general_bk.pdf
11-06-22_presentation-mosquees-anglais-general_bk.pdf
August 30th, 2011
The AVN Program in Arabic
In light of the progressive expansion of AVN’s Program, we have now made available a brochure in Arabic about our work, to raise awareness about the VN concept amongst the communities of the Arab-speaking world.
The brochure has been produced by Miss Batoul Kazwini, a student on a Development Studies program at the University of Bordeaux IV, currently on a work experience attachment with AVN.
Contact mail : Batoul.Kazwini@lavoutenubienne.org
Click on the PDF symbol below to dowload the brochure.
11-08-03_plaquette_generale_arabe_BK_01.pdf
August 30th, 2011
At the invitation of the Association Écoles du Monde, and with the support of the Véolia Environment Foundation, Moussa Bonkian, a VN mason from Burkina Faso, arrived in mid-August in Madagascar for a three-month stay.
Under the direction of the French architect Jean Louis Rostaing, based in Majunga, he will build, with the help of local apprentices, several pilot VN buildings in two regions: on the high plateaus and in the region of Majunga.
The aim of this pilot phase is to gauge the local interest in the VN technique in the different parts of the island, with its varied natural resources, climates, and cultures. In the light of the results, and the degree of involvement of our local partners, we could envisage, eventually, an awareness-raising and promotional program in the regions of the island best adapted to the VN concept.
Ho ambinin-tsoa, we send our best wishes for the success of this ambitious project
August 30th, 2011
Toronto-based independent film maker Brian Bragason visited AVN in Burkina Faso and in France earlier this year. He is making a documentary celebrating the work of Laurie Baker, Hassan Fathy, and La Voute Nubienne, all visionaries in building affordable and environmentally sustainable architecture for the poor in the developing world. This is what he has to say about his experiences with AVN ..
“…On a recent trip to Burkina Faso I had the good fortune to visit the village of Boromo. To the uninformed observer, Boromo, located halfway between Ouagadougou and Bobo Dialasso, is a road stop. The passing traveller who stops here is bombarded by women selling refreshments that range from the most welcome (water/pop) to the comically inappropriate (bags of onions). Most travellers stop briefly for a refreshment, or a bag of onions, and move on. And yet if they do so they will miss experiencing one of the most exciting developments in social/self-help housing in the world today. For Boromo is the Burkina Faso headquarters of La Voute Nubienne, a non-profit agency dedicated to the transformation of housing in Africa.
Over the course of the last few years I’ve travelled the world researching environmentally friendly building for the poor as part of a documentary project. There are over 2 billion people in the world today living on less than $2 a day and providing decent housing for them is a real challenge. This challenge has vexed some of the best intentioned experts on earth. I shall not name them for fear of incriminating the guilty. The beauty of an organization like La Voute Nubienne is it does not put it’s faith in experts. It does not rely on governments. The dedicated crew running AVN does not believe in top-down solutions. They believe in people. They believe by giving people the expertise to build vaulted roofs and homes using easily found onsite materials you improve lives. And frankly after looking at the results I say they’re right.
In the last ten years AVN has been responsible for building hundreds of homes for mostly low income families in West Africa. Their innovation lies not just in the construction of vaulted roofs but in their approach. AVN is not interested in charity, they are not interested in giving away homes. Their interest lies in empowering people to change the course of their lives, whether it be through training masons in vault building techniques, or communal building, or facilitating the building of inexpensive, environmentally friendly housing.
AVN was born of the friendship of two men, both villagers, and both masons, Thomas Granier from Ganges, France and Seri Youlou from Boromo. Their experience in building comes from building with their own hands. And through their experience, they’ve simplified and standardized building techniques to teach a kind of engineering with the hands. Virtually anyone that goes through AVN’s training program can build a house. Thomas and Seri are aided by a capable crew of European and West African associates all of whom work for an African wage, or on a volunteer basis. And perhaps this is the most valuable lesson of AVN, not just that is has provided homes for thousands of poor people, but that a few good people from different cultures with a good idea and a great deal of drive can make a world of difference.
We’ve see the financial decisions coming out of New York, Brussels, Paris, London, Tokyo in recent years make a real mess. Perhaps we should instead rely on the wisdom coming from Ganges and Boromo for a pleasant change.”
We send Brian our best wishes for the final editing and succesful distribution of his film....
August 10th, 2011
The first phase (Sept 2008 - August 2011) of the unrolling of AVN’s Program in Mali Août 2011, has now ended. It is the first regional program of its kind to be implemented outside Burkina Faso, and has included:
a pilot test of the AVN pump-priming strategy (the Dendjola Pilot Village Deployment Program), helping to define local expectations and potential
the setting up of AVN-Mali and the recruitment and training of an initial local management team
the training of the first generation of NV masons in Mali (35 so far)
the construction of 110 NV buildings (= 325 vaults, totalling 2,500 linear meters)
the setting up of the first AVN ’franchise’ operation in Mali, with the NGO Terre et humanisme in Tacharane.
This photo says it all ... : the children of Siaka Djiré (’champion’ of the Dendjola Program) have built this original Nubian Vault chicken-house entirely of their own accord. They must have spend a lot of time observing the AVN masons at work in the village, and decided to go ahead with a project of their own. What greater proof could there be that the NV technique has been incorprated into the local culture? And maybe thes kids will form the next generation of NV masons in a few years’ time?
The second phase of the AVN-Mali Program will start in September 2011, and will involve the opening of new franchises, the development of the regional market in NV housing, and the evaluation of the final two years of the Dendjola Program.
The full report of the AVN-Mali Program 2010 - 2011 (in French) can be dowloaded here.
August 8th, 2011
The Artelia Foundation invests in AVN’s programs in Mali and Burkina
The Artelia Foundation is providing financial support for the setting up of AVN-Mali, and is planning a consultancy mission to help support the development of AVN-Burkina Faso.
All the members of the AVN’s teams would like to thank the people at the Foundation for their backing.
August 4th, 2011
Support from the Fondation pour la Nature & l’Homme
The French Fondation pour la Nature & l’Homme - Solidarité Sud has agreed to provide financial supprt for the promotion of AVN’s Program in the pilot region of Ségou Koutiala, Mali.
All the members of AVN’s teams would like to thank Mme Ostria and her colleagues at the Foundation for their participation and confidence in our work.
August 4th, 2011
Two AVN masons go to Rwanda!
At the invitation of two clients and potential local partners, Kigali Farms and Gardens for Health, two Burkinabé masons, Idrissa Sawadogo and Saidou Youlou, have left for Kigali, Rwanda, to construct a pilot NV building to be used for mushroom cultivation.
Please join us in wishing good luck to these two brave builder-travellers.
August 4th, 2011
New recruits to the AVN-France Office in Ganges
We have been fortunate in recruiting two new staff members in our office in Ganges, France: Tatiana España (below left) and Batoul Kazwini.
Tatiana is a true pan-European: after growing up in Forence (Italy) she took a degree in Civil Engineering at Swansea University (Wales, UK), writing a thesis on bamboo construction; she is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. She has always wanted to be involved in development issues, and has worked as a volunteer in projects in Brazil, Colombia, and India (where she spent three months at the Auroville Earth Institute in Pondichery, studying earth architecture). She is currently seconding Annelies Hollewand as a Directors’ Assistant.
Batoul is from Syria, where she took a degree in Economics at the University of Damascus, prior to joining the University of Bordeaux IV (France), where she is currently studying for a Professional Masters’ Degree in Development Practice. As part of her study program, we are fortunate to have her on a four month internship at AVN. She is preparing Arabic versions of AVN’s promotional materials, and helping with fund-raising in Arabic countries, developing contacts with associations and foundations in particular in the Gulf States, the Emirates, and Saudi Arabia
The members of the widespread AVN community would like to extend a warm welcome to our two new staffers.
June 17th, 2011
The Nubian Vault presented on BBC radio
The BBC World Service broadcast an item on the work of AVN in Mali last month. You can hear a recording of this broadcast, accompanied by a slide show of images which we have added to it, by clicking here. It lasts 7 minutes.
June 15th, 2011
Three Burkinabés arrive in Zambia to start the construction season there
The rainy season has now ended in Zambia, and the AVN program for 2011 has just started. Three experienced NV practitioners travelled from Boromo, Burkina Faso, to our pilot zone in a cluster of villages in the Chibombo District of Zambia in May, to join the seven apprentices whose training started last year:
Camille Sanon,VN master-mason, entrepreneur, and trainer (level 5), who has spent the last three construction seasons successfully running and training a team of NV masons and apprentices in northern Senegal
Karim Ouédraogo, NV master mason (level 4), with eight seasons experience of vault construction and apprentice training in Burkina Faso
Adama Guira, an English-speaking extension worker from the AVN office in Burkina Faso , whose tasks will include promoting the NV technique in the villages in the District, and training a local project manager to replace him at the end of the 2011 season.
These three brave men, who will be staying in Zambia for the next five months, are now touring the villages in the District on new bicycles provided by AVN-Belgium, and with the help of the two Zambian masons trained last year (Christopher Phiri and Kasalama Moobela), recruiting apprentices and organizing the first building sites of the season. We hope that they, in collaboration with our local partners and ’champions’ in this pilot zone, will lay the foundations for growth of a self-sustaining market in NV housing in the region, and eventually, maybe, in neighbouring countries (as has happened in the Sahel with the extension of the AVN program from Burkina Faso to Mali and Senegal).
June 10th, 2011
AVN’s growing reputation has recently been recognised by the award of the Social Enterprise Trophy (International category) to Thomas Granier, co-founder of AVN. This trophy, organised by the French newspaper La Tribune, with the support of the bank BNP-Paribas, is awarded to the most promising social enterprise organizations in France - AVN was selected by a jury of professionals from 120 other candidates for this award.
June 9th, 2011
28 avril 2011
An AVN sponsor / investor on a field visit to Boromo
Mme Délia Brémond, Vice-President of the Ensemble Foundation, our main inestor and partner in AVN’s regional program in Burkina Faso, visited our HQ in Boromo, and construction sites in neighboring villages, earlier this year. This visit was warmly received by the members of the AVN-Burkina Faso team.
Here is a selection of the photos she took during her visit.
May 3rd, 2011
The Maison des Energies, Sinthiou Bamanbé, region of Matam, Sénégal
This complex of buildings, constructed by a team of VN masons, and financed by the Communauté de Communes du val de Drôme. France, includes training workshops, a canteen, and accomodation units. The first major VN project in Senegal, it has served both as a valuable training site for apprentices from Senegal, and as a demonstration site which has encouraged the setting up of further VN projects in the country - in the region of Podor, for example.
April 19th, 2011
A fresh look at the AVN Program
This new video, prepared by the French bank BNP-Paribas as part of their investment in, and sponsorship of, AVN, makes interesting viewing - and, although the sound track is in French, it is subtitled in English.
April 14th, 2011
A new VN Program in the north of Sénégal
As is the case in most regions of the Sahel, the north of Sénégal (the regions of St Louis and Matam) many families suffer from very poor housing conditions, which can be ameliorated by recourse to the VN technique.
The Association / NGO Le Partenariat, based in St Louis, has been operating for many years in the north of Senegal, and will now be working with AVN on a franchise arrangement over the next 6-7 years, recruiting and training local teams of VN masons. The joint Program will start in the pilot region of Podor, and will involve the progressive transfer of AVN’s project management know-how to the staff of Le Partenariat, who will then be able to run the Program themselves.
In the longer term, this Program will lead to a significant improvement in housing conditions for many local families, and the generation of a self-sustaining mnarket in VN homes.
Full details of the Program, in French, can be found here
April 11th, 2011
Video of VN roof water-proofing
This fascinating video shows a team of Burkinabé women applying the final waterproof coat of render on the terrace roof of a VN house in Boromo. In many villages of Burkina Faso, the final rendering of walls and roofs is traditionally womens’ work...
April 10th, 2011
The first VN house financed by micro-credit in Burkina Faso
This is a photo of the the very first VN village house under construction to be financed through a micro-credit scheme in Burkina, as part of the project ’Une femme, un toit, des droits’. The house is now completed, and the client, a member of a local Solidarity Finance group, was able to pay for it because of the micro-credit product launched jointly by AVN and the NGO Entrepreneurs du Monde, and piloted here with the support of the Ensemble and PPR Foundations for womens’ equality and rights.
April 9th, 2011
West Africa: the mid-season results
We are just past the half-way point of the 2010/11 VN construction season in Burkina Faso, Mali and Sénégal).
To date, 10 permanent VN teams, totalling nearly 400 masons and apprentices in these three countries, have so far built this season almost 1 linear kilometer of vaults, on over 60 different construction sites.
April 2nd, 2011
This year, for the first time, La Tribune will be awarding the Trophées de l’Entreprise Sociale, to pay tribute to projects and people who have helped in developing a socially responsible economy.
AVN, represented by Thomas Granier is one of 15 nominations (out of a 120 candidates).
March 30th, 2011
The first VN house by the sea: Senegal, 2011
Far away from its origins in the centre of land-locked Burkina Faso, the VN Program has now reached the coast! If you look carefully at this photo, you can just get a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean between the mason’s legs...
March 25th, 2011
The film Artisans du Changement about la Voûte Nubienne
You can see below part of the film made by Sylvain Braun (LatoSensuProductions) about Thomas Granier and Séri Youlou, co-founders of AVN. This is an extract (18 minutes) from a longer film called Le Salaire de l’espoir (The Wages of Hope) about three projects created by local change agents in Africa and Latin America. The film was premiered at UNESCO headquarters in Paris last month, and has already been broadcast on French television.
This version is in French, but the sequences filmed at AVN’s centre in Boromo, and at AVN building sites in Burkina Faso, give an excellent idea of the operation and environment of AVN’s program.
February 2nd, 2010
A wonderful selection of photos from the 09/10 building season ...
... of VN masons and their clients :
... of promotional campaigns :
... of building sites :
... of VN houses :
... and, finally, some interior shots :
January 25th, 2011
BICIM Bank helps promote AVN’s program in Mali
La Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie of Mali (BICIM - part of the BNP Paribas Group) is supporting AVN’s work in Mali to the tune of 10,000€ over a two year period.
BCIM is the second social investor to support AVN’s Mali program, and represents the first direct investment from Mali itself in our work.
The entire AVN team would like to thank BCIM for their support and for their confidence in our program, and in the skills of the VN masons.
January 25th, 2011
Best wishes for 2011 from AVN’s masons and support teams
The AVN masons and their support teams teams in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, France, and Belgium send their best wishes to our supporters for 2011 ... a year which we all think is full of promise for the further development and scaling up of our programme.
This year, we are hoping to see our program in Zambia take off from its promising start, but we need help to fund the training of apprentices and masons in the villages in the Chibombo region where the first VN houses have been built.
If you’d like to help, and live in the UK or mainland Europe, you can make donations to the Zambia program via the Global Giving UK website.
If you’re based in the USA or Canada, you can donate via the Global Giving US website
January 13th, 2011
AVN to be show-cased at UNESCO, Paris
There will be a pre-release screening of a new documentary film in the series Artisans du changement at 19h on January 13th, at the UNESCO headquarters, place de Fontemnoy, Paris.
The film, Le salaire de l’espoir (’The wages of hope’), by Sylvan Braun of Lato Sensu, show-cases the work of four social entrepreneurs:
Albina Ruiz, of Ciudad Saludable, Peru
Séri Youlou and Thomas Granier of AVN, Burkina Faso
Bagoré Bathily, La Laiterie du Berger, Senegal
The screening will be followed by a public debate on the theme L’entreprise responsable, utopie ou réalité ?, with the participation of Albina Ruiz, Patrick Vivaret, Yves Leers, Elisabeth Laville, Sylvan Braun, and Thomas Granier.
January 3rd, 2011
AVN wins a DiaspAura 2010 Prize
Our programme is one of the winners of the Concours DiaspAura 2010, gaining second prize in the Patrimoine et Héritage category.
AVNwould like to invite members of the Sahel countries living overseas to support our work back home in Africa.
December 3rd, 2010
AVN winner of the 2010 Trophy for Economic and Social Innovation
The Crédit Coopératif Foundation has awarded their 2010 trophy for economic and social innovation to Antoine Horellou (AVN Development Director) and Romain Lemoine (AVN member).
Together with a cheque for 10,000€, this Trophy was awarded to AVN, from amongst 400 contnders, for the Association’s innovative work in economic and sustainabel development.
A short film (in French, below) was made by Scop Z’images Productions to mark the event.
October 6th, 2010
The Dutch Triodos Foundation is the first major organisation to invest in AVN’s pioneering Pilot Village Deployment Program in Mali. This four-year PVDP was started two years ago, round Dendjola, in the region of Koutiala, in partnership with local villagers. The funding from Triodos will enable the third and fourth years of the program to proceed on schedule.
The ’champion’ of this PVDP is the Imam of the Dendjola mosque, Siaka Djiré, and the AVN master mason in charge of the programme is Ibrahim Dien. Ibrahim has designed and overseen the construction of four village mosques - important centres and meeting places for the village communities. In addition, 7 houses have been built (= 27 vaults in total, for the mosques and houses) 5 masons trained, and there are 14 villagers on the waiting list to become apprentices at the start of the next building season (Autumn 2010).
Many thanks to the Board of the Triodos Foundation for their support for this Program, which will have a major impact on the development of a self-sustaining market for VN homes in the villages involved.
September 8th, 2010
AVN’s Director of Development, Antoine Horellou, met Baaba Maal (from Senegal) and Alpha Blondy (from Ivory Coast) at the world music festival ’..du Bout du Monde’ in Crozon, Brittany, on August 8th.
This was our third contact with the famous Senegalese musician: Tony Kaye (AVN Management Committee) met Baaba Maal in London last December, and Thomas Granier also met up with him earlier this year in Senegal. Baaba Maal would like to build a Cultural Centre using the VN technique in his home town of Podor. He has also offered to produce a song / video-clip for AVN, and to introduce AVN’s work to fellow Senegalese singer Yousou N’Dour, and the famous Malian musicians Salif Keita and Rokia Traoré.
Below: Baaba Maal with Antoine Horellou and Pascal Imbert
Alpha Blondy (below), known as Africa’s ’King of Reggae’ , and also Ivory Coast’s UN Peace Ambassador, has offered to promote AVN to his contacts, and through his website.
Many thanks to Suzette Newman, of Palm Pictures in London, and Pascal Imbert, for helping arrange our meetings with Baaba Maal.
August 25th, 2010
NV technology transfer from Boromo to San Isidro, Mexico
Stevan de la Rosa, who spent time learning the NV technique in Boromo in 2009. has now sent us some superb photos of the first NV building he has constructed with a team from a rural educational project in San Isidro, in the centre of Mexico. The building has two rooms, one for storing seed, the other for tools. Another building is planned for later this year.
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July 1st, 2010
Each NV House built Saves 2.0 Tonnes CO2e
A report by experts at the London office of Environmental Resources Management (ERM), based on data provided by AVN staff in Boromo, indicates that a typical NV house of 25m2 floor space makes a saving of 2.0 tonnes of CO2- equivalents (CO2e) compared to the available alternative construction methods. Since the start of the AVN ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ programme, one can estimate total savings of over 2,000 tonnes of CO2e.
Read the summary report by ERM on the carbon footprint of NV houses.
June 23rd, 2010
Nubian Vaults in the famous Dogon country, Mali
Our Spanish partners Arquitectos Sin Fronteras, with whom we had already worked in Burkin Faso, in association with APH (Actions de Promotion Humaine) have constructed the first NV buildings in the Dogon country, in the region of Bandiagara.
Under the direction of the architects Mattéo Caravatti and Chiara Gugliotta, with masons trained through the AVN programme, a maternity centre has been built in the village of Kani Gougouna, as well as an onion storage and drying barn in Bolmo-Wadouba.
Here are some photos of these buildings...
May 23rd, 2010
To the memory of a grand old man: may his soul rest in peace
Piawèlè Youlou, father and father-in-law of AVN founders Séri Youlou and Thomas Granier, joined his ancestors on the other side this May 4th.
He had supported our adventure from the start, and was the first in Burkina Faso to replace all the buildings of his family concession with VN ones. His vast circle of family and friends honour his name " Piawélé" which in Nuni (the language of his ethnic group, the Nunumas) means "there are kings" - a tribute to his noble and generous character.
His final blessings go with our programme and all who work for it.
May 17th, 2010
AVN invited to join the National Geographic Global Action Atlas
As a result of AVN’s link with Global Giving, we have been invited to become one of the early partners in National Geographic’s Global Action Atlas.
The Global Action Atlas uses National Geographic’s reach to enable a worldwide audience to discover and learn about non-profit organizations, and to take action in support of local, on-the-ground projects tackling the vital challenges of our time.
Two AVN projects now figure on the Action Atlas, in Chibombo, Zambia, and Dendjola, Mali. Others will be added in the next few weeks. We hope these entries will help target fund-raising on specific AVN projects.
May 5th, 2010
AVN presented at Shanghaï World Expo 2010
This new 5 minute video, made by Sylvain Braun (Lato Sensu), as part of the project "Artisans du changement", has already been shown at the UN World Habitat Forum. It is now being shown on the UNESCO stand at the Shanghai World Expo (May 1 - Oct 31, 2010).
>>> tell your friends about this !
April 28th, 2010
An award for Emilio Caravatti, AVN partner in Mali
The Italian architect Emilio Caravatti has just received a prize at the Brick Awards 2010. in Vienna.
This is an important sign of recognition for Emilio Carvatti and his team at Africabougou who have developed the VN technique in Mali in collaboration with masons trained by AVN, working with local villagers.
Congratulations !
www.emiliocaravatti.it
Africabougou
April 26th, 2010
New photos on the Net from partners and clients in Burkina Faso
In the region of Bobodiolasso
At Koudougou
At Pô
April 24th, 2010
April 19th, 2010
Moussa Diouf, VN builder and entrepreneur in Sénégal, a finalist in the GSVC competition, University of Berkeley
Three years ago, AVN signed a partnership agreement with Mr Moussa Diouf, and his company, Makane, which builds using the VN technique, and trains local artisans. Despite the difficulties in starting up a new business, Makane’s social business plan was one of the winners in the finals of the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), judged in London on March 5th last. This Europe-Africa-Middle East part of the GSVC competition was jointly organised by the l’Institut de l’Innovation et de l’Entrepreneuriat social (IIES) of ESSEC and the London Business School.
Makane’s entry will now go forward to be included in the final round of this global competition, to be judged at the University of Berkeley, California, April 21-22. The business plan which formed the basis ofmakane’s successful entry can be viewed here.
The AVN team sends its best wishes to Moussa Diouf for success both in this competition, and in future business plans in Senegal.
April 19th, 2010
Inauguration of the Koba College, Kati, Mali
Our partner Africabougou has sent us photos of the inauguration of of the new college at Koba, built using the NV/RF (Nubian Vault / Reinforced Concrete) technique. This technique permits the construction of more complex buildings, with large, cool, well-ventilated, rooms, ideal for classrooms and other meeting spaces.
And below are photos of Africabougou’s latest building site - a school in the village of Fansira Coro, also in the region of Kati in Mali.
March 31st, 2010
A new partner invests in a Pilot Village Deployment Programme (PVDP) in Senegal
On March 11th last, in Dakar, Haidar el Ali, President of l’Océanium and AVN signed a partnership agreement to open a PVDP in nthe zone of Kolda, in upper Casamance. Hamidou Diallo, Océanium coordinator in this region, will be project manager for this programme over the next four years. At the moment, a number of apprentice masons from Kolda are undergoing on-site training at the CCVD/AVN project at Thiangol, near Matam, in the north-east of Senegal..
Hamidou Diallo surrounded by Haidar el Ali and Thomas Granier at the signing of the agreement.
The apprentices from Kolda, with Pierre, their AVN master mason from Burkina Faso, and Hamidou Diallo.
March 30th, 2010
The March issue of the architectural review FuturArc contains an article on earth architecture, highlighting AVN’s work. You can read it here.
March 30th, 2010
Austin Hawkins, an American post-graduate from Hamilton College, is on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study earth architecture. After spending several months in Turkey and Ethiopia, he has now been with AVN in Boromo for the last two months, working on AVN building sites, and learning how to construct vaults. Being bilingual, he has been able to help Christopher and Kasalama, our two Zambian apprentices, in particular by translating the AVN masons’ manuals into English for them.
You can see a fascinating interview with Austin on our You Tube channel.
March 2nd, 2010
AVN-Belgium launches fund-raising appeal
AVN-Belgium has started its fund-raising appeal for our programmes in Zambia and Mali. You can access the English version of a four-page appeal brochure here.
February 27th, 2010
A selection of photos from the current building season
Superb slide shows of building sites, brick-making, some of the AVN "Nubians" and masons, and VN houses and interiors, can be seen in our Photo Galleries, here.
February 25th, 2010
Environmental Resources Management (ERM), a leading global provider of sustainability consulting and assurance services, is to provide expert help, pro bono, from staff in its London office, to assess the environmental impact of the VN construction technique. This results from a successful bid to ERM Foundation’s Low Carbon Competiton.
Raw data for the study has already been collected by AVN staff in Burkina Faso, and this will be used by ERM experts to calculate the relative ’carbon footprint’ of VN earth brick buildings compared to the current alternative options (timber and corrugated iron roofing, concrete block walls, cement mortar...), and to draw up a programme of follow-up work in the field. This important study should provide a firm quantitative measure of the relative carbon impact of the VN technique compared to alternative construction methods.
ERM also plans to organise a round-table meeting at their HQ in the City to publicise AVN’s programme, and to bring together potential social investors and sponsors.
For more information, and for requests to attend the round-table meeting in London, please contact the project manager, Dominique Gangneux.
January 18th, 2010
The BNP-Paribas Foundationhas decided to join AVN’s community of social investors, with a sum of 4,000 euros, to be used to purchase a vehicle and communication equipment to support the work of our team in Boromo, Burkina Faso.
We would particularly like to thank Delphine Le Bris, a member of AVN and a BNP-Paribas staffer, for her help.
December 28th, 2009
This Foundation, part of the Belgian construction group BESIX, has joined the AVN community of social investors, by promoting the development of our programme in two pilot villages in Burkina Faso, the first one being Gikologo.
Many thanks to Donatienne De Spirlet and her colleagues in the BESIX Group for their support.
December 23rd, 2009
Two Zambians arrive in Boromo to learn how to build Nubian vaults
Following the exploratory visit of Jean Stasse (President of AVN-Belgium) and Thomas Granier to Zambia last September, and the creation of the partnership between Abantu-Zambia / Tuchafwane and the Burkinabé, French, and Belgian branches of AVN, two Zambian apprentice masons, Christopher Phiri and Kasalama Moobela, arrived in Boromo on December 15th.
This is the first step in a three-year pilot programme promoting the VN technique in 6 villages north of Lusaka, with the logistical support of Abantu-Zambia. The two Zambian apprentices, chosen by their village communities, will spend the next 5 months in Boromo learning how to construct vaults, on actual VN building sites.
Once this initial training period is over, they will return home accompanied by two Burkinabé VN master-builders, to launch the first phase of building and apprentice training there, on behalf of the many ’clients’ who have asked for VN houses in their villages.
We’d like to give a big welcome to our new friends who have come from so far, and to encourage them in their determination to disseminate the AVN programme in southern Africa. This is truly a momentous step for all involved - not only in terms of transfer of the VN technique, but also, of course, at the level of cultural and linguistic exchange between masons from an anglophone country in the south of the continent, and a francophone West African state.
Séri Youlou welcoming Christopher and Kasalama at the bus station in Boromo
December 20th, 2009
The birth of AVN-Belgium
A new offshoot of our Association - AVN-Belgium - was formally created in Brussels on December 14th.
AVN-Belgium’s founding members are Jean Stasse (President), Philippe Rolin, Paul Stasse, Tony Kaye and Thomas Granier.
The purpose of this new structure is to coordinate, and support the initiatives and commitments of AVN’s partner organisations and social investors in Belgium. AVN-Belgium’s first priority is the AVN pilot programme in Zambia (see the Report of the initial evaluation mission to Zambia ), and, in the medium term, the reinforcement of AVN’s emerging programme in Mali.
Oprichting van een nieuwe vereniging in Europa : AVN Belgium
Op 14 december j.l., in Brussel, is Association la Voûte Nubienne België opgericht - AVN-Belgium.
De oprichters zijn de heren Jean Stasse (voorzitter), Philippe Rolin, Paul Stasse, Tony Kaye en Thomas Granier.
Het nut van deze organisatie is het verenigen van initiatieven van diverse partners en sociale investeerders in België. Als eerste doelen staan op de agenda het openen van een pilot-programma in Zambia (zie het verslag van de evaluatie van AVN in Zambia), en, op langere termijn, het versterken van het programma van AVN in Mali.
December 16th, 2009
Appeal by Séri Youlou presented at Copenhagen
This appeal by Séri Youlou, co-founder of AVN, recorded last week in Boromo, is broadcast at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (sub-titled in English)
December 12th, 2009
Another success: AVN wins prize at World Bank Development Marketplace
AVN’s submission to the World Bank Development Marketplace DM2009 Competition on Adaptation to Climate Change has won a major prize.
AVN Development Director Antoine Horellou, and our US representative Julia Brooke Hustwit, presented the submission during the 4-day marketplace event in Washington November 10-13. The prize funds will contribute to the launch of a Pilot Village Deployment Program in the region of Boromo, Burkina Faso, and to evaluate the carbon savings associated with VN earth brick construction methods, as compared to the available alternatives.
The full list of the 26 prize-winning projects can be seen here
November 14th, 2009
Chris Blackwell and Global Giving
Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, and one of the most influential figures in the world music industry, has recently made a donation to AVN via Global Giving. He was a major influence in gaining international recognition for Jamaican musicians such as Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. More recently, he also set up Mango Records, which features such well known West African artists as Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, and Angelique Kidjo.
Many thanks from all of us at AVN for your support, Chris!
If you want to follow Chris Blackwell’s example by supporting us, click on the logo below, which will take you to our entry on Global Giving:
November 12th, 2009
Reinforcements for the AVN-Burkina Faso team ...
Seri, Francis and Oumar, key members of AVN-Burkina Faso, and their wives, are delighted to announce the recent births of Korotimi, Thérèse and Mounira.
A warm welcome and wishes for a long life to these newly-born Nubians !
November 4th 2009
Return of a President
At the last General Assembly of AVN, held on October 9th, the Management Committee voted in Régis Poudevigne , one of AVN’s founder members, as President. Régis was in fact the very first President of the Association, some ten years ago, and he has generously agreed to take up this role again so as to enable Thomas Granier to devote more time to his role of Program Director. Based in Ganges, France, Régis is a professional musician, as well as being a trained electrician and builder; his wife is Burkinabé, and he and his family make frequent visits to Burkina Faso.
October 19, 2009
AVN - Belgium: The "Earth roofs for Zambia" Program
Thomas Granier and the founder of AVN-Belgium, Jean Stasse, went on an assessment mission to Zambia in September, to evaluate the possibility of starting a VN program in that country. The visit followed discussions earlier this year with the Zambian Ambassador in Bruxelles, and the Belgian NGO Abantu-Zambia.
The visit turned out to be so positive that a partnership agreement is to be drawn up between AVN-Belgium and Abantu for a three- year program, which kicks off next month with a six-month apprenticeship in Burkina Faso for two future Zambian VN masons. Funding for the program is being raised from private and institutional social investors in Belgium.
More details in the Zambia Assessment Mission report here.
October 13 2009
We’re Green - it’s official!
After a thorough evaluation, the AVN ’Earth roofs for the Sahel’ program has just been given the GlobalGiving Green "Leaf", because it reduces demand for wood from heavily deforested areas, creates jobs and economic opportunities in the local economy, and provides job training through apprenticeships.
Click on the leaf for more information
October 7th, 2009
A success story from Mali
The first VN mosque in Mali, in the village of Mamarila-Sanogola (Koutiala district), was completed earlier this year. This has had a remarkable multiplier effect, with people in the Muslim communities in 9 surrounding villages deciding to build over 20 VN homes, 3 more mosques, and a school, under the guidance of apprentices trained on the original mosque building site. More photos and information on this pilot zone development program can be found here.
To support AVN’s work with rural Muslim communities in Mali and Burkina Faso, you can make (tax-deductible) donations via our entry on the Global Giving websites:
in the USA
in the UK
September 30th, 2009
World Habitat Awards 2008/09: Announcement of winners and finalists
It has just been formally announced that AVN’s ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ programme is one of the "...nine outstanding finalists" in the 2008/09 World Habitat Award competition. A list of the two winners and the finalists can be seen on the Building and Social Housing Foundation website. The two winners are the Polish programme Building Partnerships to Eradicate Poverty, and Caprichando a Morada - COOPERHAF Cooperative, a community-managed rural housing project in Brazil.
A summary of the AVN bid can be seen on the WHA website, here.
August 17th 2009
AVN a finalist in a World Bank competition on Climate Adaptation
Some 1700 project submissions, including ours, were made to the recent World Bank Development Marketplace competition on Climate Adaptation.
AVN’s ’Earth roofs for the Sahel’ program is amongst the 100 projects to go to the final selection phase, as a result of which 20 projects will be chosen for grant funding of around 200,000 US$.
This is yet another sign of AVN’s increasing international profile, coming after winning the Ashoka Changemakers’ competition on Affordable Housing (2006), being chosen as a Tech Awards laureate for economic development (2007), being amongst the 300 or so projects nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007, and, most recently, having been shortlisted for the 2008 World Habitat Award.
August 5th, 2009
Selections of photos from the 08/09 Season
Seven slide-shows of photos from the 2008/09 building season can be seen in our Photo Galleries here.
July 30th, 2009
Sheila Leonard, from the Global Giving office in Washington, recently visited projects in West Africa featured on the Global Giving website, including the AVN Program. She was met by AVN-BF secretary Zalissa Koula in Ouagadougou (after an overnight bus journey from Accra, Ghana), and, after another (3 hour) bus journey, accompanied by Zalissa, visited VN buildings, and meeting VN masons and project staff, in and around Boromo.
Sheila thinks that this visit is is a great opportunity to learn what AVN needs from Global Giving, hopes to make the projects she visits more visible and attractive to donors... so do we!
June 5th, 2009
Interviews with AVN co-founders on French Radio and TV
On France Inter, Sunday, May 3rd, from 18H10 to 19H, Soro Solo and Vladimir Cagnolari invited AVN President Thomas Granier to their programme "Afrique enchantée".
a link to the programme
On TFI, in the programme "C’est ma terre", Tuesday May 19th at 20h30 Séri Youlou, AVN co-founder and Director of AVN-Burkina, will present the key points of AVN’s work, in the context of deforestation of the Sahel.
April 28th, 2009
AVN to take part in SICABAT-9 in Ouagadougou
AVN will take part in the 9th SICABAT salon (Salon International du Bâtiment de Ouagadougou) which takes place from May 6th - 10th in the SIAO site. The main theme of the Salon this year is "Architecture and sustainable development in Africa: preservation of the environment and eco-sufficiency".
In addition AVN will present the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ program in a special workshop on "Local construction materials and sustainable development".
For further information : tel SICABAT - (00 226) 50 39 17 05
April 24th, 2009
In February this year, Stevan de la Rosa Tames, a Mexican mason skilled in adobe construction methods, came across the Atlantic to spend several weeks with the AVN in Boromo, to learn the VN technique. He spent most of this time working as an apprentice with a team of experienced VN masons building a house for the Piawale family.
You can see some photos of Stevan at work, and read his brief account of his stay here.
April 18th , 2009
The AVN Annual Report for the season Sept ’07 - June 08 is now available; this very comprehensive, 62 page, document, in French, but including many photos, charts, and a budget summary, can be downloaded as a PDF file (4.1 MB) here.
April 4th, 2009
Photos of the first VN mosque to be built in Mali
This mosque has been built by the villagers of Mamarila-Sanogola (Koutiala district) under the supervision of VN masons from Boromo, Burkina Faso. It is composed of three main vaults, each 6m x 3m25, oriented North - South, and two smaller vaults at first floor level for the Imam, and the minaret. An external staircase gives access to the minaret and roof terrace. The workmanship is to a high standard, both for the basic structure (completed in 25 days), and the internal and external renderings and finishes (completed in a further 10 days).
March 21st, 2009
An innovative micro-credit / access to VN housing partnership
Entrepreneurs du Monde (EdM) and AVN have signed a partnership agreement to design and offer a micro-credit product in Burkina Faso to help families secure the finance needed to obtain a VN house. This is to be based on the micro-credit groups already in existence with support from EdM, widening the scope of the scheme from purchase of products to access to housing.
March 18th, 2009
The idea of the "VN Mason", out of 60 others, has been voted most popular by thousands of participants in the recent competition organised by danone.communities on Facebook.
So Antoine Horellou, AVN Development Director, will meet Muhammad Yunus (on this photo with F.Riboud, CEO of Danone) in Paris on March 6th, and will present AVN’s plans for micro-finance for families hoping to build VN houses, in collaboration with Entrepreneurs du Monde.
A big thank you to all the Facebook fans who voted for us !
March 3rd, 2009
AVN member Tony Kaye visited Luxor in February, and was able to photograph two sites on the West Bank of the Nile which are key references for our programme:
the Ramesseum, the funerary temple of Rameses II, built over 3,200 years ago, and where there are over a dozen mud brick vaulted granaries and storehouses still standing;
the village of New Gourna, with buildings designed by the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, who famously revived the Nubian vault technique in the 1940’s.
The photographs of these two sites can be seen in our photo gallery here.
March 2nd, 2009
New photos of vault construction now online
AVN member Bernard Vincenneux took a series of superb photos in Autumn 2008 of VN masons working on vault construction; you can view his slideshow here.
Feb 27th, 2009
"We cannot not change the world"
This is the motto of the Social Design website : " we are used to believing ... that we cannot change the world, being the humble individuals we are. However, we either reinforce or change the way things are around us with every little thing we do. We establish and change the social world we live in every day. We call that social design."
The AVN ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ programme is now showcased on the Social Design site as an example of an innovative project in social design. You can see our entry here
Jan 20th, 2009
Thomas Granier (AVN President) and Mathieu Hardy (new AVN staff member) will be in the Matam region of Senegal from Jan 15-27 for the start of our Programme in this new zone, in partnership with the Communauté de Communes Val de Drôme, who are financing the construction of rural training centres. Masons trained on this project will later be able to move on to other VN construction / housing projects for local clients in the region, recruiting and training their own apprentices in the process, so further extending the reach of the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel ’ programme.
Jan 7th 2009
Mathieu Hardy is an architect with considerable experience of earth construction methods in Niger and Mali. He will be responsible for organising the recruitment and training of new teams of VN builders and promoting the VN Programme, in particular in Mali.
Pierre Naudet, a business studies graduate, specialises in the design and organisation of environmental projects. During 2009, he will be helping the AVN-BF team to to develop its project management, administrative, promotional, and evaluation skills.
Jan 1st ,2009
We are delighted to announce that the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès has agreed to provide financial support to the AVN ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ Programme for the next three years. The Foundation’s sponsorship will enable us to further strengthen the Programme’s human resources in the Sahel, as well as the logistical backup services in France.
We would like to thank La Fondation d’entreprise Hermès and its President, Monsieur Pierre-Alexis Dumas and his collaborators for their support and their confidence in our Programme.
Dec 12, 2008
The financial sponsorship that the Veolia Environment Foundation has been providing to AVN in 2007 and 2008 now comes to an end. The Foundation’s support has been a key factor in the development of the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ Programme over the last two years, and we would like to thank Roger Lacan and the Foundation’s team for their backing.
However, our links with the Foundation continue: Mlle Aurélia Greff, an ex-employee at Veolia, is helping to promote the construction of the first VN buildings outside the Sahel, in Madagascar, and a study group of Veolia staff will be visiting AVN-BF in Boromo in February next.
Dec 12, 2008
The AVN Earth roofs in the Sahel Programme is one of the 12 projects shortlisted to go on to Stage II of the selection process for the 2009 World Habitat Awards.
The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless.
Two awards are given annually to projects from the global North as well as the South that provide practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems. An award of £10,000 is presented to each of the two winners at the annual United Nations global celebration of World Habitat Day.
Dec 10th 2008
In November, AVN-BF exhibited its show house, which had been extended in October with a first floor vault and ground-floor patio, at the 2008 Salon International Artisanal de Ouagadougou (SIAO).
The AVN BF team and 4 VN masons showed several thousand visitors round the house, which aroused a great deal of interest in the economic potential of the VN technique, especially for poorer rural families. 1500 information leaflets were taken up by interested visitors, and around 100 of these made direct enquiries about having a VN house built, not only in Burkina Faso, but in neighbouring countries as well.
A great success! More photos can be seen here.
Dec 10th 2008
VN Masons’ Congresses open 2008/09 Building Season
To kick off this winter’s building season, over 70 Burkinabé VN masons took part in the fourth Congress, held in Boromo in October, followed by the first Congress of Malian VN masons, held in Segou, in November. This first major meeting of the 15 VN masons in Mali bodes well for a future rapid extension of the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ program beyond the borders of Burkina Faso.
Both meetings provided opportunities for planning the next building season, for getting feedback on progress made earlier this year, and for exchanging ideas and information on VN building techniques.
AVN President Thomas Granier, Director of Development Antoine Horellou, and Annelies Hollewand, on a five month internship with the Association from the University of Aix-en-Provence, took part in these meetings.
Dec 10th, 2008
AVN’s Representative in North America
We are very happy to announce that AVN now has an ’ambassador’ in North America, Julia Brooke Hustwit.
Based in New York, Julia is a specialist in sustainable development and a practitioner of a wide range of design disciplines. She has 8 years of academic experience (at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh University, and the London School of Economics), and 4 years of professional experience in architecture and new media, as well as community and international development. She cultivates a remarkably interdisciplinary background to promote positive human, social, and environmental impact through her work, and is particularly interested in the fields of architecture, green building, human development, internet, philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship.
We are very fortunate to have her support in developing our contacts in the USA and Canada.
October 7th, 2008
Masons from AVN-Burkina Faso are putting the final touches to a VN show house (see photo) for the 10th Salon International Artisanal de Ouagadougou (SIAO), which takes place from October 31st to November 8th.
The SIAO celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and the six-hectare exhibition site forms an architectural ensemble inspired by the varieties of habitat found in the Sahel.
October 7th, 2008
Paris: A Voûte Nubienne Exhibition
Photographic Exhibition :Earth as a contemporary construction material: the example of la Voûte Nubienne : Sept 25 - Oct 24th
« Ravier, Sekhsaria, Caravatti and Souvant are four photographers with a passion for architecture. They have brought back from their trips to Africa a range of perspectives which show how young Burkinabé and Malian masons are able to alleviate the problems of habitat in the Sahel... using just their hands and raw earth. It is, quite simply, magical » : Séry Youlou and Thomas Granier, co-founders of la Voûte Nubienne Association.
Venue : Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture - 254 bd Raspail - Paris 14e
September 10th, 2008
18 August 2008
Here is a selection of superb photos taken by Diego Ravier during the Spring of 2008 on his visit to Burkina Faso with the architect Marion Naffrechoux, responsible, with ASF-Spain, for several VN public buildings in the centre-west region of the country.
17 August 2008
Portraits of 22 VN masons, taken by Laure Cornet, chosen from amongst the 100 participants at the 3rd Congress of VN masons in Boromo, June 2008.
16 July 2008
15 July 2008
An article (in Italian and English) by our friend and partner Emilio Caravatti about his latest projects in Mali, using the VN-RF (Reinforced Concrete) concept, built by VN masons from Burkina Faso.
14 July 2008
Photos from the recent Congress of VN masons in Boromo, June 2008.
14 July 2008
11 july 2008
New series of photos showing some of the latest VN constructions.
6 July 2008
Alain Viry, CEO of the CFAO and some of his colleagues visited the AVN in Burkina Faso in April. Cheickh Modibo Diarra, Head of Microsoft Africa, joined the group for part of their visit to VN buildings. A selection of photos taken by Alain Viry in Boromo can be seen here.
In March ’08 Seri Youlou, AVN co-founder and Antoine Horellou, AVN Director of Development met in Burkina Faso. You will find a selection of photos from this visit here.
Here are three new wonderful selections of photos by our colleague Emilio Caravatti who, with the Association Africabougou, and VN builders from Mali and Burkina Faso, together with local villagers, are building schools using the VN-Reinforced Concrete technique in the region of Kati, Mali.
View the photos
May 12
COMPARE THESE TWO VIDEOS !
Ouagadougou, 1998...it all started here
Material for this video was filmed ten years ago by Jean-Francois Naud, now Secretary of the Association. It shows the very first, experimental, VN vault being built in the PIAMET exhibition area set up by Konaté Bomavé in Ouagadougou. This historical document vividly illustrates the evident scepticism of many of the bystanders, and the initial technical problems encountered. These early doubts have been swept away as the AVN ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ programme goes from strength to strength, and spreads to neighbouring countries such as Mali (see the video below) ... but there is still so much to do (French soundtrack).
Ten years on ... Pélenga Cultural Centre, Ségou, Mali
Martine Girault and Igor Lahondes de Arhome made this short video for us during the building of the Cultural Centre in Pélengana / Ségou, carried out with our partner in this region, Intervida-Mali, in 2007/08. Compare the size and technical and aesthetic qualities of this building with the early steps shown in the 1998 video (above) to realise the enormous progress that’s been made. (French soundtrack).
April 14th
Click here to read Antoine Horellou’s report of his recent visit , which paints an excellent picture of the realities of the AVN’s work in the field (in French).
April 14th
Here at last is the full report of the 2006/2007 season (in French, but an English translation is underway).
April 14th
Issue No 91 of the popular French magazine on sustainable development, Valeurs vertes has just come out with an excellent article by journalist Danielle Nocher. You can read it here (in French, of course).
April 7th
An English translation of the report of the 2nd Congress of VN builders held last Autumn is now available here. We would like to thank Déborah Keller, a graduate of the School of Architecture at Strasbourg, and her colleague Gabriel Quentin, for preparing this translation.
Thermal and ’Comfort’ Properties of VN Houses
We have received an intermediate report on research into the thermal and comfort properties of VN houses, initiated in 2006 by the engineer Urs Wyss with the assistance of Balima Neya in Boromo, and written up in 2007 by Hugues Sauret. The research involved daily monitoring of internal temperatures of a VN house, compared with a ’modern’ (breeze block walls, tin roof) building of comparable size, in Boromo, over a four month period. At the hottest times of the day, the VN house was cooler on average by 5C, and the temperature range from high to low much less (3C for the VN house, 9C for the comparison house, for an external range of 11C). The report is available (in French) here.
We hope to find the necessary resources to continue and build on this initial exploratory research: the period of measurement needs to be extended for longer (this first study only ran from June to September), the procedures should be automated, and a range of buildings need to be monitored.
March 31, 2008
From Sacramento to Boromo: a Californian’s view of our Programme
In December last year, Rachel Ford and two of her colleagues from the Californian property developer LJUrban, made a fact-finding visit to the AVN Programme in Burkina Faso. Rachel, a professional photographer, has kindly sent us a set of the many photos she took during her visit, and you can see a brief selection of these here
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The French journalist Jack Souvant has just returned from a news-gathering trip to the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ programme in Burkina Faso. You’ll find here a small selection of his photos, and in later updates we’ll be presenting extracts from his reports.
16 March 2008
The PDF files below contain the relevant articles, in French.
In Maisons paysannes de France
an article by Hugues Dupuy:
The new press agency, Reporters d’Espoirs has put out a press release:
The regional newspaper Midi Libre carries an item about the Social Entrepreneurs 2007 Award from the Association SolidarCité sponsored by PPR, with a photo of the Award being presented to AVN President Thomas Granier:
Architecture Méditeranéenne" has a very comprehensive article by Roger Marcorelles: "Vers une renaissance des voûtes nubiennes":
Updated 15 March 2008
AVN once again recognised as a social entrepreneur
On Feb 12 2008 François-Henri Pinault, CEO of PPR, presented AVN with Solidarcité’s « Social Entrepreneurs 2007 » Award. This award fund will be accompanied by sponsorship from the CFAO, a subsidiary of PPR en Africa, and active help in strategic planning and networking from Alain Viry, CEO of CFAO, and his associates.
AVN would like to thank our supporters at PPR for their interest and confidence in our work.
15 Feb 2008
AVN a Winner in the Ashoka IMPACT competition at the Paris Salon of Entrepreneurs
Since October 2007, AVN President Thomas Granier and Development Director Antoine Horellou had been selected to take part in Ashoka-France’s IMPACT competition, involving the development of a Social Business Plan, a key element in the scaling up of the Association’s Programme.
Out of 10 short-listed projects, AVN came second in the public presentation and judging of the business plans at the Paris Salon of Entrepreneurs on Feb 6th, and, as a result, will receive an award and professional help in further development of the AVN Business Plan.
The Association would like to thank the Ashoka-France team, and its Director Arnaud Mourot, for the support and advice they have given AVN during the competition.
Web site Impact
15 Feb 2008
Architects’ Report Summary
This PDF file contains a summary of the report prepared by Laure Cornet Gaelle Bois-Soulier, the two architects from the School of Architecture in Grenoble (ENSAG) who have just spent four months on attachment to AVN, in France and Burkina Faso, as part of their post-graduate studies in earth architecture (in French).
15 Feb 2008
A North American partner and an Award in Boromo !!
In December 2007, three young American women, representing the Californian eco-housing property developers LJUrban, travelled to Burkina Faso to visit the AVN project. This visit was a necessary pre-requisite to LJUrban’s developing interest in helping the goals of the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ Programme (see LJU website) .
Stopping over in Paris on the way to Burkina Faso for a meeting with Thomas Granier and Antoine Horellou, our visitors were asked to take the Tech Awards trophy with them, to present to Monsieur Youlou Piawélé, father and father-in-law of the co-founders of AVN. The trophy from the Tech Museum in California has now found its rightful place, in Boromo, in the hands of this wise and venerable supporter of our programme ... See photos of the presentation here.
13 Feb 2008
- TERRA 2008
AVN present at the 10th International Conference on the Study and Conservation of Earthern Architecture
Séri Youlou and Thomas Granier, co-founders of AVN, will present the ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ programme at this conference in Bamako from Feb 2 - 5. Organised by the Getty Conservation Institute and the Malian Ministry of Culture, this prestigious forum brings together specialists in earth architecture from all over the world.
Click here for conference information.
The AVN’s program ’Earth roofs in the Sahel’ is now featured on the website of GlobalGiving, a virtual shopping mall for aid projects, which "...treats foreign aid and philanthropy like a marketplace, where donors and recipients come together to exchange information and resources ..." (Dennis Whittle and Mari Kuraishi, founders of GlobalGiving).
Go to the AVN entry
05 January 2008
At the beginning of November 2007, the AVN was selected as a Laureate for the Tech Museum Awards.
Each year the Tech Museum in San José, California, chooses 25 Laureates (from over 700 candidates this year) to honour as social entrepeneurs, in five categories. The AVN was selected as one of the five Laureates in the Economic Development category. Antoine Horellou (AVN’s Director of Development) was invited to San José to receive the Award, and to take part in a four day program of meetings and networking with some of the world’s leading authorities on social entrepreneurship. This was also an opportunity to present the Earth roofs in the Sahel program at the Universities of Stanford and Santa Clara.
Antoine Horellou (on right) receiving the Tech Laureate Award
Website of Tech Museum Awards
Watch the AVN presentation video prepared by the Tech Museum
Report by Gaëlle Bois Soulier et Laure Cornet, architects on attachment to the AVN from the Grenoble School of Architecture (in French).
The Earth roofs in the Sahel program spreads beyond Burkina Faso.
3 Aug 2007
The Association is delighted to announce financial support from Veolia Fondation d’entreprise Veolia Environnement for our 2007 and 2008 activities. We would like to thank Monsieur Roger-Lacan, our ’champion’ in the VEOLIA group, and the Foundation’s team, for their confidence and support. Read the AVN entry
The Associations INTERVIDA (Spain) and AVN have signed a two year agreement which formalises our joint work in developing the use of the VN technique in the region of Ségou, Mali. Two VN builders from Burkina are working on the first constructions there. .
19 May 2007
The AVN is pleased to announce the first tranche of financial support from the Department of the Hérault, and owuld like to thank the members of the Conseil Général for their interest in our work.
21 Apr 2007