World Habitat Award 1998
for the
'Promotion of Woodless Construction in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger'

awarded to

Development Workshop

The World Habitat Award 1988 has been presented by the Building and Social Housing Foundation (B+SHF) to Development Workshop (DW) for its role in the 'Promotion of Woodless Construction in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger'.

Woodless Construction is the name used in the Sahel countries of West Africa for the construction of vault and dome roofed buildings using hand moulded mud bricks.

DW has promoted adaptation of the techniques and development of the training process to suit the needs of Sahel builders and people.

Woodless construction :

• Protects the environment and saves wood
• Develops both local skills through training, and income generation opportunities
• Improves living conditions and infrastructure for local families and communities
• Provides a sustainable technique to meet growing shelter needs with scarce resources
  
  

The World Habitat Award seeks to identify human settlement projects that offer sustainable futures to residents and which present practical solutions to current problems.

Development Workshop thanks all its partners and the individuals who contribute to the promotion of Woodless Construction, and above all, the builders who have been trained over the years in the Sahel, who make the adoption of Woodless Construction possible.

Principal partners and supporters:

Burkina Red Cross - Care International - Danida (Danish international development aid) - Danish Red Cross - Development Workshop Mali - European Development Fund, Mali - International Labour Organisation (ILO) - ISAID - Lund University - Lutheran World Relief (LWR) - Malian Red Cross - Organisation for the management of the Sahel environment (OGES) - PAB, Burkina Faso - SOS Sahel, Niger & Mali - The Woodless Construction Programme, Niger - United States Peace Corps - World Conservation Union (IUCN) - World Vision - Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Zippan & Barrat, Arch.