Designing homes in rural communities with no access to modern infrastructures like electricity, sewer or water, means taking advantage of every natural system possible. This project, GAC’s first, uses a number of passive ventilation, day-lighting and thermal regulation, along with local knowledge of materials construction methods and fabrication techniques to create a prototype house which can be community built and sustained. Committed to using low-impact building materials, maintaining a low-cost, and collaborating with local residences on design and construction, GAC introduced EarthBag construction, the first application of its kind in Rwanda. We also hired local basket weavers to help design and fabricate a series of woven surfaces to shield areas from sunlight, provide privacy and incorporate alternative approaches to enclosure and form. Once completed the house was voted on by the community builders to be given to a local houseless family.