Among its numerous objectives, the PHARO project (2014-2018) aimed at the economic development of Quirimbas archipelago through the improvement of responsible tourism. Quirimbas is a marginalized area in the North of Mozambique, featured by an extraordinary value in terms of biodiversity. The ecolodge Casa das Garças is located in Ibo, an island of the Quirimbas archipelago. Further, Casa das Garças is part of PHARO project, and it aims at properly representing the worth of local culture and natural resources. The peculiarities and the difficulties of the island context have become an opportunity to study and develop sustainable and integrated building solutions, as well as to use local resources without exploiting them.
Casa Das Garças is an ecolodge hosting tourists and researchers. It was built using local materials, revisiting and improving local techniques, according to principles of sustainability and innovation. 40 members of the local community –both men and women– were trained during the construction process of the ecolodge as well as for the furniture design and production phase.
The ecolodge has been built according to simple but effective sustainable and bioclimatic principles, as passive free cooling, rainwater harvesting and use of solar energy.
The project has deeply focused on the reworking of local building techniques –as makuti and pao pique–, as well as on the extensive use of local materials –as coral stone for self-produced blocks, bamboo, mangal and coconut wood, coconut fibers, and lime.
ASF Italia team Filippo Mascaretti, Sacha Mendozza, Carlotta Pichler
