Background and objectives
Following the devaluation of the CFA franc, the price of building materials, most of which are imported, increased by 50 per cent, making them unaffordable for most of the population.  The Government has prepared a national strategy on local materials to tackle this problem.  The project assists the Government to implement this strategy through capacity-building in the private sector in the field of building materials. 

Activities
The main components of the project launched at the end of 1997 include a study of local building material production, a report on shelter production systems using local building materials, capacity-building in small-scale enterprises in the formal and informal sectors and preparation of technical recommendations on local building materials. 

Results
The study on local building materials, training in production and outside funding permitted the training of about 70 people from small enterprises.  Training and sensitization sessions were organized for technicians from the private sector and the national administration.  Following an independent evaluation, a tripartite meeting endorsed the recommendations of the project, focusing on local building materials and strengthening of the national institution in charge of promoting local building materials (LOCOMAT).