Eco-friendly revolution at work: Their houses are made from rice

Kyrgyzstan's eco- friendly alternative to conventional construction materials is booming in the country, which is vulnerable to global warming and grapples with water shortages

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It may look like an ordinary building site but Akmatbek Uraimov's new house in Kyrgyzstan is being built with blocks of rice.

The eco-friendly alternative to conventional construction materials is booming in the Central Asian country, which is vulnerable to global warming and grapples with water shortages.

Before selecting the unorthodox material, Uraimov had researched other options, but concluded that the relatively cheap blocks made from rice husks were his best option.

"In terms of insulation, cost, as well as for builders, it turned out to be convenient," said Uraimov, who lives in the village of Kyzyl-Kiya in southern Kyrgyzstan.

"People didn't know about it. Now they see it, they are interested, they call," he told AFP.

Nursultan Taabaldyev is one of the pioneers of the technology in Central Asia hailed as an environmentally friendly alternative to water-intensive concrete.

In a workshop in his home region of Batken, rice dust was billowing into the air from the husks, the rough outer shell of rice which is normally thrown away or burned.

Workers with protective masks over their faces were compressing the bricks before rushing to dry them, and helping clients load the finished blocks onto trucks.