Overview of the project

For over 25 years, AVN (Association la Voûte Nubienne) has been designing and implementing strategies to enable the large-scale dissemination of an eco-construction practice — the Nubian Vault (NV) architecture. This technique stands out as the only viable alternative to both disappearing vernacular architectures and modern construction methods that are often ill-suited to local contexts. It also provides a concrete response to the economic, demographic, and climatic challenges facing the subregion.

This dissemination relies primarily on the emergence and growth of a market for NV eco-construction. Within a systemic approach, AVN — working alongside a wide range of partners — deploys its methodology around three main pillars:
an “offer”, built on a network of trained builders capable of operating in both formal and informal economic sectors;
a “demand”, encompassing various client typologies, with rural Sahelian families and community building project owners as the core target;
and a “business environment”, which, by bringing together a diversity of stakeholders, fosters the NV market and more broadly strengthens climate adaptation and community resilience.

Several factors demonstrate that the program is now ready for large-scale expansion, aiming to reach 10,000 beneficiary families per year by 2031: an efficient, innovative, and widely recognized dissemination methodology; a program integrating both adaptation–mitigation and development–environment approaches; proven results, international recognition, and geographic scalability; operational and replicable field teams and partners; a dynamic and growing eco-construction sector; and a solid base of clients, project owners, decision-makers, and donors.