Who we are

At EarthEnable, we believe that our clients deserve our very best, that morning high-fives are the best way to start the day, and that the best ideas could come from any part of the company. We celebrate each other’s wins, learn from our setbacks, and are deeply proud of the impact we make every day. We believe that a clean, dust-free floor means more than living in a healthy home. It means pride and dignity in the place our customers most treasure: their homes. Being a part of our team means more than building floors: it means building an organization and building a better future for rural families.

What we do

EarthEnable is transforming the way people live, by making homes healthier for families across rural Rwanda. 75% of Rwandans live in homes with dirt floors which are dusty, unsanitary, and fertile breeding grounds for parasites and germs. While replacing a dirt floor with concrete has significant health benefits (e.g. reducing diarrhea by 50% and parasitic infections by 80%), concrete is unaffordable for many who need it. 

EarthEnable addresses this pressing and ubiquitous problem by selling high-quality, earthen floors that are 70% cheaper than concrete with 90% less embodied energy. Earthen floors are already prevalent in modern homes in the United States and are composed of natural materials (gravel, clay, sand, and laterite). EarthEnable trains and hires local masons to install the floors which are sealed using a proprietary drying oil that makes them waterproof, strong, and polished. In its first 9 years of operations, EarthEnable has installed nearly 30,000 floors and plasters in schools and homes, impacting 200,000 individuals, and created livelihoods for nearly 1,000 people.

In Rwanda 95% of houses are built with earth. After 9 years developing and disseminating ultra-affordable healthy building products made from earth, EarthEnable is shifting focus to design and build whole houses that are affordable for rural Rwandans. By expanding to provide houses made of all natural materials, EarthEnable hopes to continue to provide places where people can live healthy lives, while reducing carbon 

emissions in the construction industry. EarthEnable sees this as a way to dramatically increase our impact, and intends to construct 20 houses by the end of 2024 on one hectare of land located in Gashora.

About the role:

The Research & Development (R&D) Officer will support the development, testing, and continuous improvement of sustainable construction materials and processes. The role combines laboratory research, field experimentation, product development, and data analysis to improve product performance, reduce costs, and support operational excellence. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys both scientific research and hands-on field work.

Your duties and responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Design and implement experiments

• Design experiments and develop detailed protocols 
• Execute and document findings of experiments in a detailed and organized database, in case of unsuccessful experiments, documents reasons for failure 

2. Pilot experiment to different districts

• Plan for pilots:organise resources required to pilot a given project in different districts 
• Document learning whether successful or failure experiment to inform future workload. 
• Work with construction/district to ensure pilots are implemented collaboratively and new learning is captured and shared. 
• Develop manuals that will be used during the dissemination of the project

3. Collaboration with district team 

•  Visit districts to collect data and understand their needs , innovation challenges to inform R7D research agenda.
• Help the district team to develop a protocol of experiments and oversee execution to ensure they are being done accordingly and all learnings are documented and shared with other districts 
• Meet with clients and analyze other sources of feedback and data to identify product failure and product improvement