🔨Learning Bioconstruction with Habitat Recovery Project in LA🌳

Dec 12

Written By Eve Fox

Did you know that approximately 70% of all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic produced is used in construction materials? PVC is commonly used in construction due to its durability, versatility, and relatively low cost. It is found in pipes, flooring, windows, siding, insulation, and other products. Unfortunately, PVC poses significant environmental and health risks. PVC production exposes workers to vinyl chloride—- a known human carcinogen— as well as to dioxins. PVC disposal causes problems by continuing to release harmful chemicals as it degrades because it is not even recyclable!

In April 2024, Beyond Plastics released The Perils of PVC Plastic Pipes, a report which reveals the dangers of PVC at every stage of the product’s lifecycle. It highlights the well-documented health risks associated with vinyl chloride, a precursor to PVC manufacturing, as well as the health risks of drinking water from service lines made of PVC.

Fortunately, there are many safer alternatives available to reduce our reliance on PVC. For instance, recycled copper can be used as an alternative for plumbing and piping, and carries the lowest health risk of any material for water distribution. In flooring, natural materials such as cork, wood, linoleum, and bamboo are gaining popularity as more sustainable, biodegradable options without the toxicity of PVC.

*Jess Conard preparing bottles, courtesy of Misha Mayeur, Habitat Recovery Project.*

In November, our Appalachia Director, Jess Conard was invited by Alyssa Portaro, Executive Director of Habitat Recovery Project, to Vinton, Louisiana, the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Atakapa-Ishak, Chitimacha, and Coushatta peoples.

Jess participated in an incredible learning experience and a chance to connect deeply with the earth and individuals and families from across the continent, who came together with a common purpose.

For two weeks at the end of November, on a farm in Southwest Louisiana, Habitat Recovery Project, funded by Healthy Gulf, Beyond Petrochemicals, and Ecolearners, hosted an inspiring and informative Bioconstruction Workshop designed to teach a community at the epicenter of the climate crisis how to build using natural, sustainable, non-toxic materials.

*Image courtesy of Misha Mayeur, Habitat Recovery Project*

During this workshop, hosted at the swampland oasis known as Snow White Sanctuary, nearly 100 people learned about Indigenous building practices, timber framing, natural construction materials, plasters, and paints. All of the building materials were either upcycled, sustainably sourced, or natural materials like moss, clay, sand, and straw.

This project repurposed hundreds of gently used glass bottles into bottle bricks to create beautiful windows, in a structure that came to be known, colloquially, as an Earth Church.

Habitat Recovery Project offered teach-ins from local tribe members and fellow nonprofits, breathwork sessions, yoga, ecstatic dance, and skill shares from artists and artisans.

This southwest Louisiana community is working to create a sustainable future using natural materials—and invites anyone who envisions a more sustainable future to come throw some "Cob" down in the Deep South.