The CSEB for Disaster Resistance course focuses on the production and implementation of CSEB for appropriate and disaster resistant construction. The training programmes are similar to the CSEB Production and CSEB Masonry courses, with a special emphasis on hollow and dry hollow interlocking block systems for reinforced CSEB walls.

Eligibility: Engineers, architects, technicians, supervisors, masons, and students.

Duration: One or two-week course

Course content:

The two first days are more theoretical with lectures, presentations and practical exercises:
- Auroville Earth Institute presentation
- Building with earth in Auroville
- Sustainability and environmental friendliness
- Resource management
- Basic data on CSEB
- Raw material and soil identification
- Soil stabilisation (Stabilisers, Principles, Calculation and exercises)
- Products & equipment
- Blockyard organisation & Production line
- Quality control principles
- Improving and stabilising soils
- Mortar quality
- Block-laying & design guidelines
- Cost analysis & Economic feasibility study

The four following days are practical in nature, with demonstrations and hands-on sessions:
- Handling, adjustments and maintenance of the presses
- Safety demonstration
- Testing typical soils with a press
- Sites visit by trainees
- Production of blocks: acquisition of know how
- Production of various interlocking blocks (sizes 245, 295, D300, D250)
- Production of special blocks (U, pipe inserts, chamfer, flashing, coping, tile, etc.)
- Production of blocks: optimisation of production = 100 Blocks per hour
- Quality control with the field block tester

Identification of typical soils with sensitive analysis is taught at the end of each day. Through practice, trainees will feel more and more confident to carry out soil analysis independently.

The week is predominantly hands-on, with demonstrations and student work on the following topics:
- Stabilised earth technologies
- Tests for mortar - Mortar quality
- Bond patterns for walls
- Stabilised rammed earth foundations
- Building a basement
- Building a plinth beam with U-blocks
- Casting a RCC plinth beam in U-blocks
- Steel preparation for lintels and columns
- Pre-casting various composite lintels
- Building two composite columns of 24 cm diameter
- Building two composite columns of 29 cm diameter
- Ramming stabilised rammed earth walls and building a CSEB wall
- Building a CSEB wall with hollow interlocking blocks and stabilised earth plaster
- Building arches
- Building a free spanning vault & dome
- Evaluation of mortar test samples