African Clay LEGO, or students from ČVUT build a school in Zambia

Under the guidance of a project team composed of students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Czech Technical University, preparations are underway for the construction of a secondary school in Zambia. This initiative was started by the local community through the Czech non-profit organization Friends of New Renato. The project is designed in the spirit of sustainability and is based on local technologies, conditions, and customs.

In Zambia, secondary schools are the domain of large cities and are not accessible to most families. The Kashitu area lacks a secondary school, which is why the project, designed to accommodate 250 students, is being initiated.

The construction will use compressed unfired clay bricks – a technology traditionally used in the area, but improved within the project to make the bricks more durable, environmentally friendly, and to facilitate easier and more efficient construction. They resemble LEGO bricks. A simple manual press (brick press) is used for their production, which is easy to operate and can be handled by almost anyone. The roofing technology has also been enhanced, providing the best possible thermal and sound insulation properties thanks to several years of research.

Thanks to the simple construction technology and the long-term development work of the non-profit organization Friends of New Renato, the local community will be capable of building most of the premises with their own resources and efforts after training.

You can learn more about the project on the website kashituschool.org, on Facebook or Instagram. A basic summary of the project is also available in the form of a promotional video. Currently, a crowdfunding campaign is also underway on donio.cz.