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Popular Posts...

  • The Persian ice house, or how to make ice in the desert
    April 4, 2016

    The Persian ice house, or how to make ice in the desert

  • Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop: Experimenting with local materials in rural Gambia
    August 18, 2019

    Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop: Experimenting with local materials in rural Gambia

  • Earthbag domes of Dome Lombok: From ecotourism to earthquake-resistant housing
    November 17, 2019

    Earthbag domes of Dome Lombok: From ecotourism to earthquake-resistant housing

  • Architecture, sustainability, travel and this blog
    November 23, 2015

    Architecture, sustainability, travel and this blog

  • Bridge building with Toni Rüttimann and rural communities of Myanmar
    December 17, 2019

    Bridge building with Toni Rüttimann and rural communities of Myanmar

  • Floating villages and gardens of Inle Lake
    January 4, 2016

    Floating villages and gardens of Inle Lake

  • Traditional earth lodges of the Great Plains
    July 7, 2016

    Traditional earth lodges of the Great Plains

  • Searching for windcatchers in Hyderabad
    February 15, 2016

    Searching for windcatchers in Hyderabad

  • Providing clean drinking water to the people of Lake Atitlan
    June 19, 2017

    Providing clean drinking water to the people of Lake Atitlan

  • Ganvie, Africa’s largest lake village
    September 2, 2019

    Ganvie, Africa’s largest lake village

Design

Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop: Experimenting with local materials in rural Gambia
Architecture, Design, Vernacular architecture, Volunteering August 18, 2019

Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop: Experimenting with local materials in rural Gambia

2,577 Views 4 by Erika

Build with Gambia was an earth architecture workshop project with the goal of designing and building a dormitory for a rural vocational school using local materials.

Participatory design of WASH in schools with UNICEF Guinea-Bissau
Architecture, Design, Social sustainability June 9, 2019

Participatory design of WASH in schools with UNICEF Guinea-Bissau

353 Views 0 by Erika

In January 2019 I took part in an in-situ studio in Guinea-Bissau where we used participatory design to design inclusive sanitation facilities for schools.

Artistic action and clay oven construction at Portes et Passages du Retour art center
Design, Social sustainability, Vernacular architecture, Volunteering February 20, 2019

Artistic action and clay oven construction at Portes et Passages du Retour art center

358 Views 0 by Erika

Portes et Passages du Retour is a holistic art center in Senegal where art becomes a tool for social change.

Tunbung Art Village, a haven for creativity in The Gambia
Architecture, Communities, Design September 11, 2018

Tunbung Art Village, a haven for creativity in The Gambia

1,288 Views 0 by Erika

Tunbung Art Village is an outdoor studio in The Gambia where art, earth architecture and environmental protection meet in a creative way.

Pedal-powered bicycle machines of Maya Pedal
Design, Engineering, Social sustainability, Waste April 10, 2017

Pedal-powered bicycle machines of Maya Pedal

1,050 Views 1 by Erika

Maya Pedal is a Guatemalan NGO that is upcycling old bicycles into pedal-powered machines that make manual labour and daily tasks easier without electricity.

The floating bottle island of Joysxee
Design, Waste March 6, 2017

The floating bottle island of Joysxee

4,738 Views 1 by Erika

Joysxee is an artificial island built out of plastic bottles that teaches the world about the importance of reducing waste and turning it into a resource.

Invasive water hyacinths turned into a resource
Design, Environment, Social sustainability February 1, 2016

Invasive water hyacinths turned into a resource

1,329 Views 1 by Erika

Water hyacinths on Lake Victoria are negatively impacting the lake’s ecosystem and fishermen, but crafts groups in Kenya have found a use for the invasive plant.

Cyclical design at the Icehotel
Architecture, Design January 11, 2016

Cyclical design at the Icehotel

400 Views 0 by Erika

The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi is a work of art that brings out the unique properties of ice and snow in different ways every year.

Recycling of bombs in Laos
Design, Social sustainability, Waste December 21, 2015

Recycling of bombs in Laos

1,049 Views 0 by Erika

Unexploded ordnance and the recycling of bombs are simultaneously a threat and an opportunity for the people of Laos.

About

Welcome to my blog! My name is Erika Alatalo and I’m a world traveler and humanitarian architect writing about sustainable development, architecture and travel. Check out this page for more information.

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