Main content

Turning mud into ‘clean’ concrete

The man whose special powder turns waste soil into buildings.

A young scientist has developed a white powder which gives waste soil concrete-like properties.

Gnanli Landrou grew up in Togo, helping his neighbours dry out soil to make bricks, and his big dream is to help people like them build stronger, cheaper, houses.

But the European building industry is also excited about his new, low carbon building material.

We talk to Gnanli about his ambitions for this extraordinary powder, and meet the Swiss architect who is about to build a luxury apartment block with it.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter: Jo Mathys
Executive producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Penny Murphy
Image: Gnanli Landrou

Release date:

Available now

24 minutes

People fixing the world on YouTube

Watch stories of people changing their world on the World Service English YouTube channel

Podcast