One of the most serious problems in Ethiopia today is the rapid pace of de-forestation. The consequences are well-known: soil-erosion, shortage of fire-wood and, to a certain extent, lack of timber for construction. In Ethiopia some of the most durable indigenous species have been almost eradicated due to de-forestation.

Against this background a research project named “Sustainable Low Cost Housing – needs, possibilities and attitudes. A project with focus on the Kambaata Region in Ethiopia” has been initiated at Halmstad University. The aim of the project, which is interdisciplinary, is to develop and introduce a new low-cost housing technology and to analyse attitudes towards low-cost housing. This project has been preceded by a pre- study which forms the basis for this paper. The aim of the pre-study was mainly to gather necessary information on which the planning of the major project could be based

One of the main conclusions of the pre-study is that developing a new technology alone is not enough. An introduction of a new technology must take societies’ attitudes into account, if it shall be successful. This can be done by an active and systematic awareness building. This, in its turn, must however be based on further research about attitudes towards low-cost housing technology.