“Souleymane Ouedraogo, an expert in local materials and President of the Association for the Promotion of Local Materials in Burkina Faso, gave a talk on the “Various ways in which laterite can be used and customised”. He gave the presentation on the occasion of the Cut Laterite Bricks (Briques latérites taillées – BLT) Promotion Day organised by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Quarries in Dano, in the South-West region, on 23 and 24 November 2023.
His theme focused on building materials made from laterite. He recalled the context in which local materials are used, which is one of public scepticism and soaring prices for imported building materials.
The term local materials is widely used. However, scientists recommend using the term “appropriate materials”.
In his presentation, Souleymane Ouédraogo outlined the history of laterite, stating that adobe was the very first ancestral local building material. This material then evolved into derivatives such as bauge, which is a construction system using clods of earth. Then there’s Pisé, a system of building walls by compacting layers of earth in chests.
Cut laterite bricks come after these shapes. He points out that this name is purely technical. According to him, the appropriate name is “cut stones”. Stones were transported to construction sites and cut on the spot. But these days, the stones are cut on a quarry site. The bricks are then transported to the building site.
He also points out that, depending on the moulds used, several shapes and types of lateritic brick can be produced, compressed into rectangular, rounded or cobbled shapes, and so on.
He points out, however, that there are a number of difficulties hampering the use of BLT in Burkina Faso, including the availability of bricks: when a large order is placed, producers are unable to meet demand because production is small-scale and manual. Laterite is not available throughout the country. Ecology is another difficulty, in that the exploitation of laterite causes a great deal of environmental damage.
He felt that the waste generated by the extraction of BLTs was not being properly exploited, whereas it could be used for BLCs. He ended his presentation by saying that it was time to capitalise on the experience gained in using and promoting local building materials.
Georges YOUL
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