I took this photo during my 2nd year as a PCV in Niger, West Africa. We introduced a brand new Peace Corps program to the country called Maison Sans Bois (woodless house). The theory was going viral across other West African countries like Mali where governments realized there is a real problem with protecting the environment in terms of trees. At the grassroots level, villagers cut wood on a daily basis for cooking and other needs. Unfortunately, trees are not being planted to replace the dead trees, hence we have deforestation. A group of construction-related volunteers came to Niger as a group to promote the concept of building houses without using wood. It was a hard concept to pass to the locals because it took double the time an double the mud. But the benefit was that trees were not being killed unnecessarily. Sites were established with model woodless houses to show villagers that the concept works and you could even get creative with arches, skylights, etc.