Green

Biological diversity is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it... Eliminate one species, and another increases to take its place. Eliminate a great many species, and the local ecosystem starts to decay. -Edward O. Wilson, The Diversity of Life, 1999

With every project in the field, Solace attempts to do the following:

• To take into account the long-term benefits of each project to the local community
• To take into account the impact of the methods of construction
• To build with technologies which reduce or eliminate the use of wood 
• To build with designs and methods which are affordable to the local community  
• To take on projects or partners for the good of the community, rejecting those that speak to vanity, politics, or other questionable agendas

Building methods which lessen the impact to the environment often result in significant cost savings and strong community support. That is what Solace has generally found when working on projects all over the world. We oversee projects in construction, agriculture, water capture, and sanitation. As the designs and methods have improved over the decades, we find many of the alternative construction technologies and system designs deliver a better final product at a reduced cost. Not only do we make careful choices in finding the most cost-effective methods for each area and use them, but we also try to develop training programs that teach hands-on application to local labor.

No one of these methods is perfect for every project, but we have seen enough of their success to say that they form a standard we try to meet.