In 2000, architect Alfred von Bachmayr and a group of builders ventured to the border town of Anapra, Mexico, to help design and build a home for a family whose house had burned down—a common occurrence in this area where noninsulated concrete-block and wood-pallet structures, sometimes finished with cardboard, are the norm. Von Bachmayr, one of the cofounders of Builders Without Borders and the founder and current director of the World Hands Project, initially thought straw-bale buildings would offer a practical alternative. But after constructing a few prototypes, he started to sense that the local community was not receiving this idea with open arms. He recalls, “I knew something was very wrong when I heard that kids were being made fun of for living in this new type of house.”

Soon after, von Bachmayr called a community meeting with the locals he had befriended. “They told us that the straw-bale building process did not completely work for them. Incremental building is the norm there—adding on as money or supplies are found, sometimes taking up to ten years. A house that requires building in a finite amount of time just does not work for their culture.” He continues, “The second reason for the lack of enthusiasm is getting the resources is a lot harder than it sounds, due to transportation issues.” The meeting opened up a dialogue that led to the development of a new prototype that fuses pallet and straw construction. This system also allows for some existing buildings to be modified over time by stuffing the pallet walls with a clay and straw mixture to insulate them.

Von Bachmayr runs a firm specializing in low-cost, energy-efficient, sustainable design in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but his true passion lies in finding ways to apply his skills to the volunteer efforts for the residents of Anapra, who are mostly refugees from small villages trying to find work. “Our asking questions empowered them to be an integral part of the solution and it enriched our experience as well. When we started here we thought we were doing good for the world by building them homes, but really the houses ended up being just a vehicle to join our cultures and support each other as humans. When that happened, all our differences disappeared.”

Find out more information at worldhandsproject.org.