Building together with local wood: community-based construction using sustainable and underused local wood

The document examines community-led building practices that harness underutilised local wood resources—including small-diameter trees, storm-damaged timber, and recycled offcuts—to create affordable, circular construction projects. It outlines low-tech approaches such as structural frames, gridshells, geodesic domes, and modular wooden blocks, and emphasizes the importance of mapping local wood streams, collaborating with local carpenters, foresters, and designers, and navigating regulatory requirements. Case studies from Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Asia illustrate how projects like the KIND Centre and the Stavneblokka timber bricks initiative can reduce waste and CO₂ emissions while strengthening local skills and cooperation.