3.4. Stabilized soil blocks
The stabilized soil blocks considered in this research are made from a combination of clay soil, water, a natural polymer as stabilizer and animal fiber reinforcement. The polymer used is calcium alginate, which is added to the mixture in the proportion of 1.2%by weight. Calcium alginate is a chemical synthesis of wet chopped seaweed and calcium chloride and sodium carbonate. The animal fibre is raw cut wool, unwashed and unprocessed, and the proportion used is 0.25% by weight. The blocks are cured at room temperature. The energy consumption is based mainly on transport and extraction because they are not fired or steam-cured.