Lafarge Tanzania has partnered with the Songwe Regional Commissioner to pilot the soil stabilised brick and mason project for youth in Tunduma. This educational programme teaches young Tanzanians about soil stabilised bricks.

The attendees learned valuable skills that can be used after the training programme to access the job market and earn a living. The participants are also given business and entrepreneurship training, as well as health and safety advice to ensure that they can succeed with their newly-acquired skills.

Around 40 young Tanzanians attended the course and completed their training. They were able to build a fully-completed classroom during the course of the project, using soil stabilised bricks. After the course, the youth started their own soil stabilised brick projects where they make and sell their own products.

Some of the participants have secured jobs as masons for the Tunduma local government, creating specialised stone products for a range of applications. 

What is a soil stabilised brick?

A soil stabilised brick is a low-cost and environmentally-friendly building material. Soil and bricks have been fundamental building materials for millennia. 

Mud tends to erode when it comes into contact with water and the downside of a burnt brick is that it requires a lot of energy to produce, whether in a wood-fired kiln or a factory furnace.

Soil stabilised brick is an energy-efficient alternative. These bricks simply use cement as the binding agent; cement and soil are mechanically compressed to form a building block. These bricks are also water resistant and strong enough to build large structures and homes.

Soil stabilised bricks are more affordable and quicker to produce, cutting down the costs of a construction project.