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Popular Posts...

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

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    August 18, 2019

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

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    Bridge building with Toni Rüttimann and rural communities of Myanmar

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self-sufficiency

Reforestation and community living at Sadhana Forest India
Communities, Environment, Volunteering October 11, 2020

Reforestation and community living at Sadhana Forest India

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Sadhana Forest India is a reforestation project and a model for sustainable community living.

Restoring earth buildings and community life at Moon Desert in the Moroccan Sahara
Responsible tourism, Vernacular architecture, Volunteering April 29, 2018

Restoring earth buildings and community life at Moon Desert in the Moroccan Sahara

1,431 Views 0 by Erika

The Moon Desert project is preserving and sharing traditional knowledge about earth building and desert living in southern Morocco.

Self-sufficiency and tourism in the Wadi Rum Desert
Responsible tourism, Volunteering, Water February 19, 2018

Self-sufficiency and tourism in the Wadi Rum Desert

685 Views 1 by Erika

Malakot Camp in the Wadi Rum Desert of Jordan shows how a combination of responsible tourism and traditional Bedouin knowledge can improve lives while keeping traditional cultures alive.

Sadhana Forest and improving food security through reforestation in Haiti
Agriculture, Environment, Social sustainability, Volunteering January 8, 2018

Sadhana Forest and improving food security through reforestation in Haiti

621 Views 0 by Erika

Sadhana Forest is fighting malnutrition and deforestation in Haiti by planting food-bearing trees with the help of local community members.

How the Plastic Bottle Village is turning waste into a resource
Architecture, Environment, Waste December 11, 2017

How the Plastic Bottle Village is turning waste into a resource

2,087 Views 0 by Erika

The Plastic Bottle Village is a project in Panama that is trying to solve the global plastic problem by turning plastic bottles into construction material.

Costa Rica’s path to carbon neutrality
Energy, Engineering, Environment November 7, 2017

Costa Rica’s path to carbon neutrality

235 Views 0 by Erika

Costa Rica produces 98% of its electricity from renewable sources and the country aims to become the first carbon neutral country in the world.

Improving indigenous lives with coffee and culture
Communities, Social sustainability, Volunteering September 18, 2017

Improving indigenous lives with coffee and culture

229 Views 0 by Erika

Preservation of culture and a women’s coffee cooperative are two grassroots projects by the members of La Laguna indigenous community in Nicaragua.

How Long Way Home is creating architecture and awareness from trash
Architecture, Social sustainability, Volunteering, Waste May 8, 2017

How Long Way Home is creating architecture and awareness from trash

784 Views 0 by Erika

Long Way Home is a non-profit that is creating new skills, employment and awareness by building a vocational school out of waste and natural materials.

Tropical agroforestry at Maya Mountain Research Farm
Agriculture, Volunteering March 23, 2017

Tropical agroforestry at Maya Mountain Research Farm

886 Views 0 by Erika

Maya Mountain Research Farm in Belize shows how agroforestry and permaculture can turn damaged soil back into naturally productive landscapes.

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

The floating bottle island of Joysxee

4,630 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.

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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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