Terra 2008 to focus on earth-building technologies

Terra 2008, the 10th international conference on earth-building, is to be held from 1 to 5 February 2008 in Bamako, Mali (click here for conference details). The thrust of the event is that, while nearly one half the world’s population (about three billion people across six continents) lives or works in buildings constructed of earth, environmental and economic changes are resulting in a loss of skills in repairing existing earthen buildings and erecting new ones. Terra 2008 will bring together more than 300 international experts from the fields of conservation, anthropology, architecture and engineering, scientific research, site management and sustainable development of earthen architectural heritage to assess the state of earthen architecture worldwide and the latest scientific research in this field. Afro-IP notes that, despite the antiquity of earth-building technologies, patents are still being obtained for inventions in this field and there is great scope for further innovation.