Our team has been researching and working with Maji Moto community since 2016 on social, economic and environmental development issues. Due to the adverse outcome of desertification on the ecosystems and local communities, we have partnered with Enjetare, a local NGO, to open up access to alternative building techniques which are aligned with the objectives of mitigating climate change and which will be leading the ecological transition towards a more resilient future for rural communities. For that matter, we have built three community-led and sustainable public infrastructures which stand as an environmentally-responsible and affordable example of a building technique that can be easily replicated. In line with the positive response and engagement of the community, our team is now committed to translate these experiences into a practical capacity building model through the establishment of the cooperative. This will equip individuals with working knowledge of such a building technique and promote the creation of micro-entreprises. 

The construction of the workshop place will stand as the improved ultimate example of a building using CSEB technique and other locally-sourced building materials. It will provide the local cooperative members with a climate-proof, comfortable and useful working space while being a prototype for demonstrating the building technique’s efficiency and strength.

The eco-cooperative is directed at community members willing to come together to engage in an activity with strong medium- to long-term social, economic and environmental prospects and impact. It targets more specifically 3 local groups: 1) Families whose incomes rely on the production of fired bricks and whose future job opportunities are threatened by the exhaustion of local resources; 2) young workers who have limited access to semi- and skilled jobs and 3) the women groups who are the most in need of qualifying and recognised training enabling them to earn a living. Through the eco-cooperative construction and economic model, these groups can collectively build capacity, gaining knowledge and practice on future-proof and sustainable construction techniques. As such, they are equipped with a skill set to create a business, get skilled employment as well as develop a competitive advantage working in an innovative and responsible market which can significantly improve their own and household standard of living across generations. It will also benefit the wider community by strengthening its resilience: by promoting the use of locally-sourced materials and workforce, it increases the circularity of local economies; with the explicit goal of mitigating the destruction of local ecosystems and protecting the environment, CSEBs can reinforce the environmental awareness of villagers; and  the progressive replacement of fired bricks with CSEB means that homes and other buildings are of high quality standard, more durable and affordable.

The four core members are representative of a diversity of backgrounds and geographies. Laia (Spanish) and Nancy (Tanzanian) are trained architects. Msafiri (Maasai from Maji Moto) is a construction supervisor. All three met working with the community of Maji Moto. The fourth member, Cécile (French) has a background in economics, project management and reporting. She joined the team after working with Laia on academic projects at UCL. We all share a passion and commitment for nurturing more equitable, diverse and sustainable communities, with a particular attachment to Tanzania and its people. Our ethics of engagement is based on the recognition of local knowledge's strength and the full participation of communities in the project that concerns them. Our collaborative work is built on Laia’s PhD research on locally-sourced building materials and in-depth field work and community engagement activities. As we are aware of our own limitations, we welcome opportunities to partner with others to progress on our mission: we partner with Enjetare, a Tanzanian NGO, which use architecture to promote responsible building practices and materials as a tool to improve long-term socio-economic and environmental prospects; and with Un Refugio Colectivo which has been involved with the design and delivery of the building projects in Maji Moto using CSEB technique. It promotes projects that trigger social and environmental change through spatial interventions and using participatory-action research. 
https://www.facebook.com/EnjetareNGO/about
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Impact nepal is our initiativere ference
we draw upon the 14 trees research.
our projects were done in partnership with C-re-ai
the collective with which we operate currently
the local ngo in which we rely for this project