ECVET Earth Building

ECVET Earth building is a matrix of units of learning outcomes that are conceived for construction, renovation and decoration with unfired clay materials. For much more information please see https://ecvetearth.hypotheses.org

Each unit relates to a set of tasks that together form an activity specific to earth construction sites. Each activity, thus each Unit, may be considered either as a work place for a person on a building site, as a job position of a person in a company, or as an activity a whole company is specialised in. Each unit has been described on several levels of the European Qualifications Framework, EQF, representing understanding, depth of knowledge and skill.

For each level a unit is described by :

• a list of knowledge, skills and competence
• a list of criteria and indicators for assessment
• the content of each unit is illustrated by videos and pictures.

For each unit there is a worksheet for assessors and an evaluation sheet to record a person’s results after assessment. For units download please see https://ecvetearth.hypotheses.org/download/units-download

The units can be used :

• to set up exams
• as a basis for developing teaching programs
• to create new qualifications or introduce earth into existing ones
• as a kit to map out an individual learning pathway, with or without mobility between learning contexts

The units can be individually assessed within either formal or occupational training environment.

In addition to the units, ECVET Earth building gives training providers a toolkit for training and assessment, in several European languages, and an outline on how to use these within mobility exchange programmes.

Achievement of the learning outcomes will be recognised in Europe by a Learn•Earth Certificate, creating flexibility in training provision as part of a mobility exchange programme agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding between the European partners. Strategies have been set in place to progressively recognise and integrate the units in national qualifications.

Similar strategies for regional cooperation can be considered in other parts of the world where national earth building organisations can form working groups. Until such time units can be used around the world as templates for training, guiding training towards the outcomes in the units. Training may be in formal settings or on worksites within an employment or informal arrangement. Assessment and certificates can be considered within national VET systems and links made between units and trainers, units and training providers towards and eventually allowing national adoption.

The units are currently available in 8 European languages. In time national organisations are encouraged to translate the units into their own languages and to share these with the ECVET partners for publication alongside the original units.

The units cover the full spectrum of earth construction activities: sourcing and processing materials, mix production, prefabricated elements, building, formwork, repair and conservation, decoration, business management, site supervision. Not all of the earth building techniques and EQF levels have been covered by the units but the system is designed to be upgraded and like all standards reviewed.

The aim of ECVET Earth building is to promote individual professional development and mobility by allowing individual learning outcomes in earth building to
be recorded, presented transparently and in a comparable way, tested and validated independently of the learning environment.

In the future the Learn•Earth vision is that Earth building learning outcomes can be accredited irrespective of the place of learning to
improve the training and career opportunities of the various target groups interested in earth building and promote mobility. The existing, lively earth building culture of learning is to be retained in all its variety. Activists who save a Bulgarian village from dereliction are to have the opportunity to certify their newly acquired learning outcomes, just like migrants who set up a self-help earth-built community house in an intercultural park in Berlin and self-helpers who clay plaster a straw-bale house in Wales or young people who work on heritage conservation as part of youth gatherings or during their gap year or work on earth building projects at vocational college during their foundation year. When switching between systems of learning they should be able to build on what they have achieved as part of their educational career.

The opportunity to record acquired learning outcomes and add them to existing qualifications also enhances the training opportunities of disadvantaged young people.

Potentially ECVET Earth building opens up equal vocational involvement, and therefore career opportunities in the growing global earth building sector.

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