Throughout the world, affiliates use building materials that are not only familiar to the local community, but efficient and environmentally sound as well.

Behind the Scenes:
Appropriate Technology, a Guiding Principle

In September 1976, Habitat for Humanity International's first board of directors established a construction policy that would impact its house-building work for decades to come.

The policy was not particularly revolutionary or technical. Rather, it followed naturally along the concept of developing local leadership to combat substandard housing: The board agreed that local materials should be used to the largest extent possible without compromising the quality of the houses.

In time, this simple policy expanded into more complete guidelines. The phrase "appropriate technology" also has expanded to include building techniques that are volunteer-friendly, environmentally responsible, affordable for the homeowner and responsive to the local climate and culture. The mortar holding these ideas together, however, is appropriate technology's broadest definition: using the right materials in the right ways.

The benefits of using local materials are clear to homeowners, who must maintain their houses for years after the initial construction. Nevil Eastwood, director of Habitat's Construction and Environmental Resources department, offers the following illustration: Suppose a homeowner's house in Mexico is built using American windows. If one of the windows breaks, how will the homeowner replace it? The window may not be available in Mexico, and ordering parts from the United States would be far too expensive for most low-income homeowners.

Technology appropriate for Habitat's model does not necessarily have to be complicated or expensive. Habitat's most common building material--and one that is "local" almost everywhere--is concrete. It is both accessible and durable, and while working with concrete is labor--intensive, the process is easily taught to local volunteers and homeowners.

Some people are surprised at the number of Habitat houses built with manual labor, according to Eastwood.

"They say, 'How do you do that?'" Eastwood says. "It's hard to explain to them that these are local people, local materials. It's a grassroots thing, and it's amazing how it works."

Even with the focus on local materials and appropriate technology, there is plenty of room for innovation. In Latin America, some affiliates are experimenting with pre-cast concrete panels for walls instead of concrete blocks, and several affiliates in the United States have effectively employed alternative building techniques such as straw-bale and adobe blocks. The emphasis, however, remains on the local affiliate's initiative and grassroots support.

"It's always been that way," Eastwood says. "It's just how Habitat works."

--by Rebekah Graydon