While news of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti has disappeared from the headlines, efforts continue to re-build homes for the many left homeless. A recent effort by architect Nader Khalili and Cal-Earth involves filling polypropylene bags with earth, sand, clay, water and fibrous materials like sticks and straw to create a domed compression structure that will resist earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and fire. Combining these materials with ten percent concrete and community labor instead of specialized machinery results in a product stronger than cinder block or concrete slab. As tree-hugger.com informs MHProNews.com, this technique uses very little or no wood, an invaluable asset in timber-starved Haiti. ##

(Photo credit: Konbit Shelter/treehugger.com–Home made of 90 percent gathered materials)