ECO FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY WHICH HELPS THE POOR! Enzyme based compressed blocks.
An effort is being made to create low cost housing for the poor both in the United States and in developing countries around the world. The applications in South Africa and the repercussions for R.D.P. housing are truly staggering. Pacific Enzymes, Inc. along with non-profit organizations such as Mission Ministries, Inc. have teamed up to accomplish this task. Using an enzyme product produced by Pacific Enzymes, Inc., Permazyme 11X, this product when mixed with ordinary soil, results in an extremely hard and durable substance. It has the properties very similar to concrete. Because there is no need for buying or hauling in materials, the Cost Savings are TREMENDOUS. Utilizing enzyme technology, there are no chemical used, thus making it a 100% natural green product.
Using PERMAZYME 11X for Compressed Earth Brick Construction
What Are Compressed Earth Blocks?
The availability, low cost and environmentally friendly nature of earthen construction makes it an attractive alternative to conventional building methods. Compressed earth blocks, also known as rammed earth blocks, or compressed earth bricks, are similar to adobes, with the main differences being compressed earth blocks are not fully saturated with water, are more dense than adobes, and are usually significantly more uniform.
To manufacture compressed earth blocks, moistened soil is compressed under moderately high pressure using a device made specifically for this purpose, commonly known as a compressed earth block press. The original “CINVA RAM” earth block press (developed in Columbia during the mid-1950s to address the need for low-cost housing) was a portable, manually operated machine that could produce building blocks made from soil available at the building site. Hydraulic and compressed air earth block presses are now also available and produce a compaction force far greater than that attainable by human power alone; however, manually produced blocks are virtually indistinguishable from those produced by power-assisted machines.
Please note that your local building codes will specify whether compressed earth bricks may be used for footings; typically, for larger structures a concrete footing is used before installing the compressed earth brick walls.
The advantages of compressed earth blocks include:
” Because of their uniform shape, sharp edges and smooth surfaces, compressed earth blocks need little mortar, and can even be dry-stacked. This uniformity also speeds up the laying process and results in straighter walls.
” While the manufacture of compressed earth blocks is labor intensive, they can significantly reduce the costs involved in building a house, outbuildings, fences, garden walls, etc., and can be produced at a fraction of the cost of conventional cement blocks.
” Compressed earth blocks have structural qualities superior to kilned brick and other masonry materials.
” CEB’s can be made either solid or with spaces to allow for conduit, reinforcement, etc.
PERMAZYME 11X solves a Compressed Earth Block Problem: Protection from the Elements
The major weakness of compressed earth blocks as a construction material is their vulnerability to fall apart due to weathering. Using safe and non-toxic PERMAZYME 11X as an admixture during compressed earth block constructions solves this weakness by making the compressed earth blocks stronger and more water-resistant due to PERMAZYME’s superior binding qualities. While using PERMAZYME 11X as an admixture does increase the construction costs for compressed earth blocks, the resulting block is a stronger and more durable product.
To further weatherproof a structure built from compressed earth blocks, experienced earth builders recommend that one or more layers of plaster should be applied to the exterior surfaces of earthen walls. This exterior plaster should be made of the same or similar ingredients as the wall itself, but with increasing amounts of PERMAZYME 11X to create a harder layer.
Proven International Results:
In the Philippines, Mission Ministries Philippines have undertaken a brick manufacturing operation. Bricks are made by a two-man crew operating a manual brick making machine. Two men can product 800 bricks per day with just the existing soil and Pacific Enzymes’ Permazyme 11X. The simplicity of application makes it workable in the most isolated and undeveloped areas. The demand is great with the first order made of 500,000 building blocks.
Warm in the winter and cool in the summer, these natural building materials are made from nature’s earth. When you combine the strength and longevity of these earth blocks, along with the low cost of production, these eco-friendly materials are ideal for housing the poor and constructing affordable buildings. Plans are being developed to create low cost homes completely off the grid, utilizing other green technologies.
A Perfect Tailor Made Solution for African Housing Challenges:
Afrizymes compressed earth bricks and blocks are the perfect products to be incorporated into the design and implementation of socio economic and community development programmes and projects.
These products and solutions for projects generate meaningful empowerment, livelihood development, income creation, enterprise development and assist with poverty eradication in disadvantaged communities. They provide an opportunity for corporates to work in a joint effort to eradicate poverty through sustainable social and economic development of Southern Africa’s and Africa’s poorest communities.
A principle of our sustainability is to use these products to implement economic development projects as a vehicle or mechanism to promote long term social upliftment of individuals and communities.
