Primary Menu
Field Study of the World
Secondary Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Topics
    • Agriculture
    • Architecture
    • Cities
    • Communities
    • Design
    • Engineering
    • Environment
    • General
    • Historic sites
    • Humanitarian aid
    • Responsible tourism
    • Social sustainability
    • Vernacular architecture
    • Volunteering
    • Waste
    • Water
  • Contact
Follow:

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

waste management

School renovations in rural Tanzania with C-re-aid
Architecture, Social sustainability January 30, 2021

School renovations in rural Tanzania with C-re-aid

1,072 Views 0 by Erika

In 2019-2020 I managed two school renovations in Shimbwe village in Northern Tanzania while working for architectural NGO Cr-e-aid.

Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop: Social architecture in practice at Kantora Arts Village
Architecture, Communities, Social sustainability, Volunteering November 3, 2019

Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop: Social architecture in practice at Kantora Arts Village

867 Views 1 by Erika

Build with Gambia Earth Architecture Workshop was a project at Kantora Arts Village aiming to create a positive social impact through architecture.

Ganvie, Africa’s largest lake village
Communities, Environment, Vernacular architecture September 2, 2019

Ganvie, Africa’s largest lake village

2,695 Views 3 by Erika

Ganvie village is a 400-year-old settlement that is built in the middle of a lake in Benin.

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

344 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.

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

2,094 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.

How Sonati is raising environmental awareness in Nicaragua
Environment, Waste September 5, 2017

How Sonati is raising environmental awareness in Nicaragua

501 Views 0 by Erika

Sonati is a Nicaraguan NGO that is fighting environmental problems through education, community outreach and recycling parks built with reused waste.

Community development in indigenous Guatemala by Mayan Families
Architecture, Social sustainability, Volunteering July 12, 2017

Community development in indigenous Guatemala by Mayan Families

880 Views 0 by Erika

Mayan Families is a non-profit organization that works with community development and poverty alleviation in indigenous communities in rural Guatemala.

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

786 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.

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

Pedal-powered bicycle machines of Maya Pedal

1,043 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

4,668 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.

1 2 Next →

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.

Subscribe

Interested in following my travels and blog? Just enter your email address to receive all new posts by email.

Social

  • View fieldstudyoftheworld’s profile on Facebook
  • View fieldstudyoftheworld’s profile on Instagram

Search

© Copyright 2025 Field Study of the World.