This project is a new rammed-earth farmhouse demonstration completed by the “One University One Village” team between March and July 2019 in Miyi County, Sichuan Province.
Miyi County lies in the northeastern part of Panzhihua, Sichuan Province. The area has a dry-hot valley climate with vertical zonation, typical of the southern subtropical zone. Most of the local villagers' farmhouses were originally earth buildings. Because Panzhihua sits in an earthquake-prone region, the seismic performance and living conditions of traditional earth farmhouses needed urgent improvement. In addition, over one thousand Yi households have migrated independently to Miyi County, mostly scattered across remote mountainous townships. Their homes had fallen into disrepair over the years, with structures damaged to varying degrees.
The Miyi County Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau had launched a dedicated program to address the housing problems of Yi migrants, identifying new seismic rammed-earth dwellings as a key development direction. The home of Su Gan Rila in Binggu Town, roughly 11 kilometers from the county seat, was chosen as a demonstration site for this area. The aim was to showcase the technique to local Yi residents on the ground, paving the way for wider adoption.
The demonstration project houses a family of five. The head of household, Su Gan Rila, suffers from a severe chronic illness and has essentially lost his capacity to work. His three children are still young, and an elderly relative also lives with them. After we learned of their housing needs, we completed the design work quickly and initiated construction without delay, so the family could move into their new home before the 2019 rainy season arrived.
The building site is far from the market town, on the southern slope of a mountain, facing south. The household’s plot consisted only of the vacant ground left after demolishing one wing of a traditional courtyard house. In designing the project, we aimed to create as much space as possible within the tight constraints of the site and footprint, to meet the family’s everyday needs.
Site plan
Ground floor plan / First floor plan
Section
Given the household’s particular circumstances — no labor capacity and no financial means — the project was led by the “One University One Village” team, with construction carried out by the team’s women’s construction team, formed by village artisan Dong Yixiang from Huili County, Sichuan.
The “One University One Village” women’s construction team is a building team led by women, with women making up over 50 percent of its artisans. Over years of rural fieldwork, we observed that in poor and remote rural areas, a large number of able-bodied young and middle-aged workers had migrated out for work, leaving only women, children, and the elderly in the villages. The hollowing-out of villages and the shortage of working-age labor had become problems that could not be ignored in rural development.
At the same time, we also found that among the construction teams trained in previous years, the women artisans who took part in projects were capable of mastering soil mixing techniques and construction skills with precision. They were conscientious, diligent, and hardworking. Some of the women demonstrated strong learning ability and good communication and coordination skills.
In early 2019, after a series of technical refinements — including the adoption of lighter and easier-to-operate construction machinery and tools — we made it possible for women artisans to carry out the work of transporting earth, mixing earth materials, setting up formwork, and ramming. This led to the successful formation of the first construction team composed primarily of women artisans and headed by a woman.
Through this demonstration project, the construction team needed to independently complete every step of the rammed-earth building process, integrate the crew, train its members, and identify and solve problems during construction. The goal was to gradually build a high-efficiency, technically mature team, enabling women to play a larger role in rural construction, while equipping rural women with more work skills and income, narrowing the gender gap in the countryside.
The project broke ground on 20 April 2019. Completing construction and getting the family settled before the rainy season — carrying out soil sample testing, mix design, and design-and-build work within a short timeframe — was a major challenge for the team.
The women’s construction team completed the rammed-earth building in Binggu Town independently in July 2019, in just two months. The build quality fully met our requirements. The project results showed that this women’s construction team was highly adaptable. It addressed the shortage of local artisans, brought out the initiative and talent of local women, and raised their income and self-confidence.
Project team photo with the household
Animation of the house construction process
After the building was completed and occupied, we conducted multiple follow-up visits, carrying out building physics monitoring and data collection. We also provided the Su Gan Rila family with some training in public health and household hygiene.
Subsequent farmhouse renovation projects in Miyi County will roll out gradually after this year’s Spring Festival.
Special thanks:
Professor Ren Chao for donating sanitary ware;
Professor Edward Ng for donating rice and cooking oil;
Members of the “DBSA CASO School Reconstruction Project Progress Group” for donating clothing and shoes.
Our sincere thanks to the Miyi County Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and the Binggu Town Government for their strong support.