Construction Projects in
Development Cooperation

Welcome to edu-building

The platform is intended for everyone involved in construction projects in the field of development cooperation – especially staff and volunteers from a wide range of development-focused NGOs, as well as architects, engineers, and students who are already participating in such projects or plan to do so.

Construction work is a highly complex and cost-intensive process that is often underestimated – even in the case of relatively simple projects. Many initiatives are carried out without sufficient technical support. At the same time, there is significant potential for improvement – be it in planning, sustainability aspects, or in raising overall construction standards. All of these aspects could be substantially improved if more resources were available within the NGO community – whether in terms of time or funding. Since this situation is unlikely to change anytime soon, the only viable option is to work more efficiently – and this platform aims to make a small contribution in that direction.

The videos are structured in a way that makes them easy to understand for people without a technical background, while still offering valuable insights for those with more experience. We’re confident that everyone can find something helpful here.

This project builds on the work We-Building e.V. have done over the past years through a series of online seminars titled Building in the Global South. Many people took part, most of them members of various German non-profits who were involved in construction projects meant to supports their local partner organisations and the communities they serve.

The first phase of the platform’s development was completed at the end of 2024. Thanks to the support of Engagement Global and their FEB program, we are able to continue developing the project until the end of 2026. We’ll be adding new content on a regular basis, and the platform will be accessible in multiple languages to make sure everyone – especially the various international partner organisations – can easily find and use the information.

Access

The platform and all its video content are freely and fully accessible to everyone. However, to unlock the full experience – such as reading presentation transcripts, accessing related resources, asking questions, and viewing the Q&A section for each video – we ask that you complete a quick registration process. This is also our only way of getting to know our audience. It only takes about 5 minutes – and we’d be very grateful if you could fill it in as completely as possible! This project originally began as a series of workshops, where participants naturally got to know each other throughout the day – which in itself acted as a kind of registration. Now that it’s a website, things are more impersonal – so we’d appreciate learning a bit more about you. Below is a short trailer that gives a general impression of what the presentations look like.

Two types of presentations

The website consists of two main sections. The first is the Knowledge Hub. Each video here covers a specific topic related to the implementation of construction projects – e.g. construction execution, Design, Budget, WASH, or Sustainability. The videos are 20 to 30 minutes long and use practical examples from past projects to highlight key aspects. They are presented by We-Building e.V.
The second section features case studies in which various non-profit organizations present their construction projects and workflow in detail. Such in-depth documentation is rarely found online – most projects are only accompanied by a few photos and brief descriptions. As a result, many processes remain inaccessible or hidden away in private archives. In most cases, the entire course of a project is shown – from beginning to completion. However, since each project is unique, the focus is always placed on a specific aspect. The aim is to continuously expand this section and build a comprehensive archive that offers deeper insight into the practices within the field of development-related construction.

Knowledge Hub
Case Studies

Thank You

Thank you for your interest – we’re very happy that you’re using the content on this platform and hope you find it helpful.

Since there’s no direct personal exchange on this platform, your feedback is our only way to understand what works well, what could be improved, and how we can further develop the platform in a meaningful way. We kindly ask you to take a brief moment: the feedback forms contain only 4–5 short questions rated on a scale from 1 to 10, and they take less than a minute to complete.
Your feedback is essential – it’s the only way we can ensure this platform becomes a truly useful tool for everyone involved. We’re counting on you!
All data collected will be used exclusively for this project. If you wish, your user account and all provided information can be permanently deleted at any time.