What do we do?
1. We support projects
The social-profit organization Domus Mundi lends technical, and, if necessary, financial support to building projects in the South and in the Fourth World.
A crucial element for us is our sustainable approach – we call it our volhoudbare aanpak: that means we want our projects to be in harmony with the natural and the social environment. In the first place, Domus Mundi concentrates on social projects in the South, where we co-operate with (local) organizations or partner who struggle against poverty, injustice and inequality.
Those partners are (local) organizations with a clear vision and objective, and a plan of work that has been made up in consultation with their target group, and that has been adjusted to the same. With our knowledge and experience, we help to realize the architectural projects needed within those social projects.
However, Domus Mundi is not active in the South alone. We also give financial and technical assistance to sustainable building projects in underprivileged neighbourhoods in Belgium, our home country. Those projects are all originated with social organizations and centres that labour for the Fourth World.
2. We help organizations
Domus Mundi dedicates itself to support enterprises and organizations that apply themselves to sustainable, social and ecological building in the South and in the Fourth World. We also offer financial support to social building projects, under the condition that we are involved in the draft and the planning of the project.
3. We develop and spread ideas
Domus Mundi wants to promote and propagate the bio-ecological and sustainable (volhoudbare) way of building. That’s why we continually specialize ourselves in bio-ecological and energy-saving building techniques, by supervising theses, holding courses, carrying out researches, and supporting current projects, here and in the South.
What’s the meaning of the words ‘bio-ecological’ and volhoudbaar ?
Technical and financial support to social building projects in the South and in the Fourth World is the main purpose of the social-profit organization Domus Mundi. We distinguish ourselves from other non-governmental or social-profit organizations by our bio-ecological approach, which puts sustainability (volhoudbaarheid), environment and health first.
Because the word ‘sustainable’ has undergone too much erosion, we prefer to use its counterpart in Afrikaans, the word volhoudbaar. Building according to those principles, is taking into account the future generations and the worldwide cooperation, and to have an eye for the social, economical and ecological impact of it. Put it clearly, three aspects are crucial in our method of working:
- We prefer using natural, reusable or inexhaustible mineral materials, if possible originated from the own region.
- We try to combine an optimum comfort with a minimum energy consumption.
- Water supply and savings: everyone needs to get access to drinking-water, but that water has to be dealt with carefully.
The social dimension of building in a sustainable way in underprivileged environments
In our field of action, the concept of sustainability is not a purely technical notion, for a draft can only really be sustainable if the cultural context wherein one works is also reckoned with. More specifically, for our projects in the South, this means:
- that the involvement of the local population makes up a fundamental condition, from the first seeds of the project onward, via the draft, up to and including the realization.
- that the materials have to be available in the area.
- that locally known building methods have to be used (like adobe, twined bamboo…).
- that the works have to be done by the local population.
- that cultural aspects have to be taken into account.
- that the works are affordable to the local population.
Building in a sustainable way costs a lot of money. In the absence of a convenient draft and a cost effective planning, those costs can mount up quickly. As a consequence, the social building project can overshoot itself. Armed with a good knowledge of available building materials, methods and techniques, we can curtail the costs and guarantee the financial feasibility of the project.
