Mud and straw homes could be answer for earthquake regions

(ISRAEL21c)-Nepalese villagers now faced with massive rebuilding projects following the April 25 earthquake could benefit from the lessons learned by eco-minded builders in Israel's Arava desert.

In preparation for future anticipated tremors, the Israelis are taking a unique approach to safe and environmentally sound construction rather than the more common, but expensive and less effective, reinforced concrete method often relied on to withstand earthquakes.

Sitting a top the seismically active Great Syria-African Rift, these southern Israeli builders have developed an earthquake-proof housing system that can be manufactured and constructed quickly by people without building experience.

Northwestern University Prof. Eric Masanet recently brought Alex Cicelsky of Kibbutz Lotan as a guest lecturer to his course on sustainable engineering to speak about the development work of the kibbutz's Center for Creative Ecology (CfCE).

Cicelsky told the students about the CfCE's no-water composting toilets, biogas-fueled stoves and organic agro-ecology in the desert. All of these are low-tech systems that bring high-impact results.

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