06 · Papers, Reports & Books
Where the wood, bamboo and earth already are — and what it would take to build the region's housing out of them.
Commissioned by the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank, the two companion reports examine collective housing across Latin America and the Caribbean through the lens of organic materials: wood, bamboo, earth and recycled feedstock. They map, through environmental data analysis, where each material is prevalent and where bio-based supply could be developed; diagram the value chains; document best-practice case studies; and set out policy recommendations with short, medium and long-term implementation strategies. The Ecuador-focused report is grounded in firsthand stakeholder insight: 15 semi-structured expert interviews were conducted by videoconference in May–June 2023, with each participant given the questions in advance. Interviewees were selected to maximize geographic spread — 7 cities and districts across Ecuador's coast, sierra and Amazon — and institutional diversity, spanning academia, the private sector, NGOs and foundations, with a deliberately gender-balanced panel (9 women, 6 men). Those conversations, together with additional input from MIDUVI specialists and practicing Ecuadorian architecture studios including Rama Estudio, Taller General and Natura Futura, surfaced findings that shaped the report directly — among them, how the 2016 earthquake shifted public and professional perception of bio-based materials away from an association with temporary or low-status housing.
Latin America and the Caribbean have abundant bio-based materials — wood, bamboo, earth — but no clear map of where that supply exists or what it would take to build housing from it at scale.
Two companion research reports, commissioned by the World Bank and IDB, mapping material availability and value chains through environmental data analysis.
A commissioned reference now informing housing policy discussions across the region.
