Bahareque as an opportunity for adequate housing and sustainable construction in rural Colombia

Globally, there is a large percentage of people who do not have access to adequate housing. This article presents Bahareque as an opportunity for sustainable and economical construction in Colombia due to the type of materials required. Earth fill is a material that has certain limitations, which can be mitigated by various means. However, it has not been extensively studied. The purpose of this article is to study earth fill and its stabilization through mechanical means. To achieve this, a characterization process for the material is proposed, along with methods of mechanical stabilization and laboratory tests for evaluation. In a second step, typical values of the materials used as earth fill are presented: granulometric distribution, Atterberg limits, density, compressive strength, erosion resistance, and fiber content. In addition, green materials are compared with traditional materials in terms of economic and environmental impacts. However, it is considered necessary to establish specific construction guidelines on this construction method to guarantee its good performance.