Straw Construction as an Environmental Friendly Housing Option in Rural Egypt

The growing rural population's need for housing is a critical issue, and strategies for rural housing must be put in place to address those needs. Straw bale construction is one of the best alternatives for rural housing in Egypt. Straw is becoming increasingly popular worldwide because of its low cost, excellent health value, aesthetic value, thermal performance, fire resistance, light weight, and environmentally friendly nature. There have been numerous publications on straw bale construction in the literature. However, most papers focus on either laboratory testing or building practice. The guidelines for employing straw in housing developments are rarely found.The goal in housing projects is to build low-cost, energy-efficient buildings, taking into account Egypt's high national energy consumption. Current Egyptian efforts to develop rural villages through the Decent Life Initiative and build desert hinterland villages, through which a sustainable construction strategy can be adopted in the Egyptian countryside by adopting straw construction.The study concludes a framework with a clear and methodical interpretation of qualitative data. The findings stated a proposed practical framework towards using straw in rural housing projects that should be accompanied by development initiatives to improve Egyptian sustainable housing types in the Egyptian rural villages.