THE STONE PRESS IN PROJECT ZAMBIA

Zambia is one of the world’s poorest countries and at the same time one of the countries that clears the most forest compared to total area. The combination of deforestation and a generally low yield of cultivated land makes Zambia extra vulnerable to climate change.

THE STONE PRESS IN PROJECT ZAMBIA

Every year, an area corresponding to the area three times the size of Bornholm is deforested. According to official sources, 125,000 hectares of forest disappeared in Zambia in 2019. A deforestation that results in both a huge emission of CO2 and destruction of the local nature.

With the mission to help protect Zambia’s trees, Platform.as has developed a stone press that can press the red Zambian clay soil into tongue and groove blocks, potentially making it possible to build without mortar, just like building with Lego.

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The method will save both fuel for the production and transport to the construction site, which makes it far more sustainable to build with the new bricks developed by Platform.as. At the same time, the new bricks also insulate more effectively due to the compact clay soil, which gives the stone a high density.

MORE ABOUT THE STONE PRESS FROM PLATFORM.AS

The stone press has been developed to press the clay together into bricks using nothing but manual power. The clay soil found in Zambia is particularly good for this purpose. The clay soil for the bricks is scraped from the surface of the earth directly on the construction site and therefore does not have to be transported.
It takes two minutes to press three bricks with the stone press. It is possible to press 90 bricks per hour.
The bricks from the press have grooves, just as you know them from the knobs on top of a Lego brick. This means that in the long term you can build without using mortar. As long as you are building on a level surface, you cannot lay the stone askew on top of each other.
The stone press weighs 50 kg and can be taken apart. Therefore, it can be easily transported from one construction site to another, which saves fuel.
The method will save both fuel for the production and transport to the construction site, which makes it far more sustainable to build with the new bricks developed by Platform.as. At the same time, the new bricks also insulate more effectively due to the compact clay soil, which gives the stone a high density.
It costs one-tenth to build a house with the bricks from Platforms.as compared to a house with burnt bricks, enabling more Zambians to build their own house.

FACTS ABOUT THE DEFORESTATION IN ZAMBIA

Project Zambia is a Danish CSR project in northern Zambia. A number of Danish companies work together on the project, where they contribute with know-how and the will to help others.

Sources: UN Forestry and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Global Forest Watch.

In 2019, 125,000 hectares of forest were cleared in Zambia. This corresponds to an area three times the size of Bornholm and costs an annual emission of 32.4 megatons of CO2.
Zambia has one of the world's highest rates of deforestation. On the African continent, Zambia is the country where the area of forest is decreasing the fastest compared to the country's total area.
The biggest culprit in deforestation in Zambia is coal production, but agriculture, the development of infrastructure, mining and inappropriate use of timber is also to be taken into account.
Forests are an important factor for water supply in large parts of the world. The trees hold water and nutrients in the soil, and when large areas in Zambia are deforested, the topsoil is washed away, leaving the areas desert-like.
Forests absorb and bind CO2. When trees are cut down or burned, the CO2 is released. Deforestation accounts for approximately 12% of global CO2 emissions.

THE STONE PRESS IN PROJECT ZAMBIA

THE STONE PRESS IN PROJECT ZAMBIA

TILMELD DIG VORES NYHEDSBREV

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