The Paradox around the Social Representations of Compressed Earth Block Building Material in Burkina Faso: The Material for the Poor or the Luxury Material?
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Date
2021-01-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Open Journal of Social Sciences
Abstract
Compressed earth brick (CEB) is a masonry material which has the thermal
properties that are better adapted to the hot and dry climate of tropical and
Sahelian context like in Burkina Faso. Despite these advantages, CEB are still
not largely used in the construction sector in the city of Ouagadougou. In order to better understand the obstacles linked to this low diffusion of CEB, the
present empirical study proposes a deep analysis of the social representations
of construction using CEB in the urban place. The results show that four main
categories of social representations coexist in the construction sector using
CEB: 1) the perception of CEB as the “material for the poor”, 2) the perception of CEB as “improved or precarious adobe” inherited from successive public
policies to rehabilitate the material, 3) the symbolic perceptions linked to the
red color of the brick and the durability of the material, and 4) the contemporary post-materialist perception (luxury materials), according to a minority of
wealthy elites who have built their houses using CEB. These social representations are essential to take into consideration for the implementation of new
public housing policies in general and promotion for the usage of CEB in particular. This could accompany the studies which aim at improving the technical performances of CEB and lead towards the socio-economic acceptance
of the materials
Description
Keywords
Autochthony, Burkina Faso, Compressed Earth Bock, Public Policy, Social Representation, Philbert Nshimiyimana, Gautier Pirotte, 2iE College of Engineering, Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement (2iE), Engineering
Citation
Zoungrana, O., Bologo/Traoré, M., Messan, A., Nshimiyi mana, P., & Pirotte, G. (2021). The Paradox around the Social Representations of Com pressed Earth Block Building Material in Burkina Faso: The Material for the Poor or the Luxury Material? Open Journal of So cial Sciences, 9, 50-65. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2021.9100