One of AVN’s current sponsors is the Hermes Foundation. There is a brief article, in English, about AVN in the Spring-Summer Hermes Catalogue.
March 10th, 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
If you would like to receive future Newslettters via email, click here.
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