LOOK INSIDE: Seeking Abundance

Ilima’s six instructional spaces, administrative office, and library are oriented and optimized for natural ventilation and circulation.

Each of the trusses were constructed onsite by newly trained carpenters from the nearby towns of Djolu, Mopono, and Boende.

Building locally means not only maximizing longterm benefits for a community, but also carefully considering how a project can support the local economy without destabilizing it.

Once MASS understood that the long-term viability of a building depended on its ability to be maintained through a local market, which would need to be established for construction, it became clear that the design would need to align with a supply chain rooted in proximate, familial, and communal material sourcing. We were tapping into the richness of Ilima’s commons to create a generational community asset. By linking the design intimately to the landscape of available materials, a micro-economy emerged specifically around the procurement of building resources.

Despite the vastness of the forest, land and trees in Ilima were well accounted for, each parcel and tree associated with specific families. Rights to individual trees were typically exchanged for labor. In return for felling and milling a tree, builders would keep offcuts or sapwood boards. A similar system governed other materials, with transportation priced by volume and distance, creating a dynamic market for delivery and logistics. The majority of materials reached the site by foot, having been cut, dug, woven, or produced on or near Ilima. Some were carried by bicycle, including the palm oil used to seal bricks and wall plaster, which traveled two hundred kilometers from a factory in Boende.

To manage the flow of goods, daily prices were posted on a chalkboard outside the site. A market of harvesting, production, and transportation blossomed just beyond the gates. Materials were delivered and deposited in “cabbage,” or cubic volumes tallied and tracked as a kind of physical banking system. This allowed us to trace every component of the building by source, time, and cost, making it possible to quantify the embodied energy required for production, and to understand the direct economic investment the project made in the community.

The ratio between material and labor costs varies globally. In developed economies, labor is often the largest expense, while in developing contexts like Ilima, materials and energy typically dominate budgets. Living alongside the procurement and construction of this building yielded tremendous insight into how to minimize destructive aspects of the building process, while maximizing potential for abundance and agency for the communities involved. Ilima has influenced the trajectory of MASS’s practice, becoming the stepping-off point for scaling and elaborating on this way of working through later projects like RICA and Fossey.

Stepping

Gently into a Micro-Economy

by Sierra Bainbridge

Maintenance, relative effort

Labor, relative effort

Replicability for the

Dependency on AWF

Cost

Local availability

Degree of environmental sustainability

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In 2025, the pace at which the world is facing global challenges is accelerating at an unprecedented rate. Technological advancements, particularly the development of large language models and artificial intelligence, are disrupting societies at every level. Simultaneously, the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss are becoming increasingly severe and, in many cases, irreversible. The world is in urgent need of innovative solutions and a renewed vision to navigate the uncertain future ahead.

Central Africa is no exception to these challenges, as the past fifty years or more have demonstrated. The region has endured ongoing conflicts, high and rising—though unevenly distributed—population densities, and pressing issues at the intersection of urban development, biodiversity conservation, security, and agricultural expansion.

Now more than ever, biodiversity remains one of our most powerful assets in the fight against a rapidly changing climate. Yet, biodiversity loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. While land scarcity is a significant factor, it is not the only one. A widespread belief—sometimes justified—is that biodiversity conservation and economic development are in direct conflict. Many argue that developing nations should not be expected to slow their progress to preserve the environment, particularly when much of the world’s environmental degradation has stemmed from the industrialization of the Global North.

However, this perceived competition between development and conservation is not inevitable. New approaches to holistic development offer a unique opportunity to be explored and implemented—before the costs of reversing the damage become too high or before irreversible harm is done.

by Gaël Ruboneka Vande weghe

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One Health is a Human and Ecological

One Health is a multidisciplinary approach recognizing the deep interconnections between human health, animal populations, and ecosystems. In Central Africa, where zoonotic diseases such as Ebola and emerging viruses pose significant threats, strengthening this framework is imperative. Deforestation, climate change, and urban sprawl have increased human-wildlife interactions, heightening health risks. Integrated policies that consider biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, and urban planning are essential for disease prevention and long-term resilience. The inclusion of anti-deforestation policies, rewilding, and environmental education would greatly improve human-wildlife interactions and limit the negative effects of uncontrolled extractive practices.

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The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is a working landscape, an ecological restoration effort, and an educational model rolled into one. Located on a 3,400-acre peninsula in Rwanda’s Bugesera District, the campus was designed to address a complex and urgent question: How can we feed a growing population while restoring, rather than depleting, the ecosystems on which food production depends?

The intentional design of integrated ecological and agricultural systems within the campus promises to enhance productivity of crop output and the presence of biodiversity. This is achieved through four scales of ecosystem design that complement each other in function. These scales of ecosystem include agroforestry creating a layered agricultural planting system, marshland restoration along the lake edge, re-introduced native savannah woodland species, and the establishment of agricultural crops. While these interventions require maintenance for initial stabilization, once established their increased diversity begins to self-regulate, compounding benefits until an established ecosystem evolves. At this stage, maintenance transitions into stewardship and the impacts of a flourishing habitat can be seen through increased crop production, enhanced resilience to pests and disease, improved water and soil conditions, and human health and well-being.

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Papyrus Ecosystem

• Establish buffer zone for construction

• Restore grey crowned crane (and other apex species habitat)

• Retain existing trees to stabilize soils

• Preserve papyrus

First-Year Farms

• Replicate smallholder experience

• Preserve existing orchard varietals

• Support small livestock and agroforestry techniques

• Build soil health

Recreation & Social Areas

• Locate passive and active social spaces aligned with existing tree groves

• Provide sport courts

• Provide study spaces and hammock groves

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First-Year Farms

Water Management

• Slow stormwater through planted swales

• Allow for future rooftop water collection

• Reduce erosion and siltation

• Increase infiltration

Ecology Stitch

• Connect lake and papyrus with savannah

• Provide pollinator gardens and native habitats

• Establish wind barriers

Conservation Areas

• Preserve existing biophilia

• Increase density of native plantings

The zoning of agricultural production aims for optimal use by each class of about eighty to ninety students, integrating buildings and landscapes— not only as a matter of efficiency but as a matter of pedagogy. For example, a large irrigation pivot is located between the row and forage and the mechanization and irrigation enterprises, allowing students to interface directly with the fields from the classrooms and laboratories.

This approach leverages site and environmental conditions by reconnecting ecological assets and creating corridors with demonstration plots and activity spaces. Earthen walls symbolize the importance of soil health in agriculture. Timber used for roof construction is a product of silviculture, harvested and processed for sale. Clay tile roofs shelter the structure below and are kiln fired using agricultural waste—coffee husks left over from Rwanda’s main export. These all represent the transformation of raw materials into something more refined and, ultimately, more valuable—as crop harvests become sustenance for a growing population. The Bugesera District is also a prime location for solar energy gain in Rwanda, so RICA is completely powered by an onsite 1.5 MW solar array and battery storage.

Mugesera Wetland

• Drought storage

• Flood control

• Source of the Nile

• At risk of invasives

• At risk of sedimentation

Propagation & Seed Bank

• Seed bank for rare species

• Returning species

• On-site propagation of natives

• On-site nursery screenhouses

Agricultural Research

• Faculty research plots

• Student research plots

• Crop resiliency study

• Climate adaptive species

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Soil Health

• Reuse of livestock manure

• No till agriculture

• Maintain termite mounds

• Wind rows to reduce erosion

• Reuse of green fertilizer

Environmental Siting

• Minimize solar gain

• Maximize ventilation

• Nature daylighting

• Preserve trees for cooling

Energy & Water Infrastructure

• Water treatment plant

• Lowered carbon footprint

• Visible methods

• Integrates native vegetation & habitat

• Open system reduces maintenance

By using regionally sourced and elemental materials like earth, stone, and wood, MASS drove down the embodied carbon footprint of RICA to less than half of a project that uses conventional construction in East Africa.

Terra-cotta tiles, timber decking, and rafters Timber trusses with horizontal steel diaphragm

No ceiling required for heat reduction

Concrete ring beam, earth block walling, and earth plaster finish

Timber columns

Concrete slab

grade beam

foundation

MASS team members Harriet Kirk and Aimable Mukire

evaluated several soil sites, testing each one for consistency, bearing capacity, and suitability as a construction material, as well as the impact of digging on the local ecology.

Ultimately, MASS chose to source from an existing borrow pit, dug for the creation of a road, and tested dozens of soil/ stabilizer mixes to get the right one.

MASS continues to support the Rwandan government in the implementation and dissemination of these documents, working towards the continued and safer use of a familiar material in Rwanda. Not only is it good for the local economy, but it’s also good for local ecologies. Compared to using fired brick, a typical adobe home saves 2.9 tons of upfront greenhouse gas emissions, as well as avoiding air pollution and deforestation. Paired with guidance to improve safety and durability, these homes are projected to be longer lasting, resulting in additional environmental benefits. When finally the adobe blocks come to their end of use, they can return to the ground—a perfect circular product.

Construction Material Suitability Tests

Geotechnical Boreholes

Geotechnical Test Pits

Agricultural Soil Tests

Existing Agricultural Areas

Arable Land

Conservation Areas

Soil Selection Site

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“We had hoped that this landscape could highlight the value and the beauty of native species and plants, those that we can also find in [the] neighboring Volcanoes National Park. We also wish[ed] that this landscape could serve a multitude of functions and purposes: engaging visitors & tourists that come here, educating students, local or higher education universities, showcasing model approaches to reforestation, sustainability with green roofs, and serve our scientific program as well, all while also being aesthetically pleasing.

I remember at the very beginning when we were asked to compile a list of some species we would like to see here [on campus]. Deo and I and some others in the biodiversity team came up with a list of over 130 species. We were positively shocked a few months later when we got a question—of the list you gave us, there are four or five that we have trouble allocating and growing on-site. That means you managed to get all the other hundred plus. That was something we never expected would be possible here.

We created this amazing place that sets an example of what one can build if you have a heart for conservation in general, and also conservation of local species, local plants, local insects, and a drive to be sustainable. The mindset is to merge knowledge from across disciplines, where science can also come into architecture and into design, and then receive and give feedback throughout this whole process.”

—Yntze van der Hoek, biodiversity expert for The Fossey Fund (2018–23)

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Located at the base of the Volcanoes National Park, the Fossey Fund’s campus sits on fertile volcanic farmland formed from ancient lava flows, which inherently results in highly variable and unpredictable ground conditions. The fiveacre site features a complex geological makeup, with layers of collapsible, loose granular soils often mixed with hard, porous volcanic stones, creating inconsistent soil conditions within the building footprint.

Despite comprehensive geotechnical investigations, the intricate nature of the volcanic terrain at the Fossey Fund’s site made it almost impossible to foresee all potential challenges at hand. In certain areas, solid volcanic stone layers concealed caves or weaker soils below, leading to unsuitable formation material, which impacted excavation levels and required continuous foundation redesign to adapt to on-site conditions during construction. The presence of shallow hard rock also imposed significant difficulties that made excavation works particularly laborious. To reduce waste, a stone crusher was subsequently installed on-site to crush excavated hard rock into aggregates, which was used to make low-strength concrete, mass concrete, and hardcore to be used for a variety of works on-site.

Considerations of Working with Volcanic Stone by Aimable Mukire

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