When it comes to innovative thinking about sustainability, the teachers and builders at Long Way Home in Comalapa, Guatemala are on out in front. This organization has trained hundreds of young adults on sustainable, green building technics. They even learn how to reduce waste in the environment by incorporating into building materials. 

This sustainable building learning center has worked thus far without the asset of a science lab. But now the fantastic Mite Giving Community is going to fund the building of a lab! Your gift to Project 52 - Science Lab for Sustainability will help build a new science lab so that students for decades to come can discover new ways to build green.

Let's work together to reduce waste and train the next generation on new sustainable technologies. Project 52 involves construction of a new science lab at the Long Way Home educational facilities in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala.  The construction project will create a space for learning, experimenting and discovering new ways to build green. 


Comalapa, Guatemala

Long Way Home 

Science Lab for Sustainability - Guatemala

Green building is at the core of our partner's program. For over 15 years, Long Way Home (LWH) has been engineering green buildings using locally-sourced materials and renewable energy sources. Their Hero School was built from 450 tons of local waste and more than 15,000 tires. Now we are partnering to build a science laboratory that serves more than 400 students. 
The construction is progressing smoothly, with the team pouring the building's footers, erecting concrete columns, and installing eco-brick & cob walls between them.

You may be wondering what eco-bricks are! They are reusable building blocks created from non-biodegradable waste (think plastic, glass, & metals) compressed into plastic bottles. Students and volunteers collect plastic waste from their homes and the campus to create these eco-bricks, diverting waste from landfills.

We are thrilled with the progress and can't wait to see the finished product! We want to shout out to the incredible team & volunteers dedicated to finishing this project on schedule.

Green Building Techniques at Work: Update on Science Lab Construction

Exciting news! Our lab construction is progressing right on schedule with no delays, thanks to the fantastic Green Building professionals team and dedicated volunteers. 

There’s been lots of mixing cob (sand + clay + straw), pounding tires, cutting bottles into “bricks,” cleaning and preparing materials, and applying natural paint to the new science lab building. 

Our partner interviewed one of the volunteers, Edson Martinez, who is helping build, and here’s what he had to say: “Being on-site to see for myself all the progress that has been made just fills my heart. I know that this science lab building is going to directly impact many kids.”  

Volunteers in action for sustainable change

You are helping sponsor a project that will eventually be replicated by green builders all over the world! The science lab construction is being documented from start to finish and will be shared with builders looking for an easy source to replicate a sustainable building process. 

So far, 4,000 eco-bricks have been used to build the lab meaning countless plastic wrappers and trash have been upcycled and removed from the waste stream. The next step in construction is to add doors, windows, floor tiles, and countertops. 

Come August 2023; this lab will be filled with Guatemala's future scientists to experiment and ultimately innovate.  