How Civic Saint Uses Earth-Based Materials to Build Safer, Stronger, More Affordable Homes

A Civic Saint Stonehome is created using compressed earth blocks made from Missouri’s clay-rich soil. These eco-friendly homes are part of Civic Saint’s mission to create sustainable, affordable housing in Kansas City. Check out the gallery below for more on these homes and their floor plan.

The first clue that Kansas Citian Godfrey Riddle is not your traditional home builder comes from the name of his company: Civic Saint.

A one-time worker with Americorps VISTA, a federal poverty-reduction program, Riddle wanted to honor “the undervalued and intrinsic good of the public sector.”

Yet Riddle also built his company, which constructs earthen-block homes, around his identity as an artist, a gay Black man, a survivor of head-neck cancer, and the son of late parents who taught him the value of home ownership.

Riddle founded Civic Saint in 2020, and he hopes to have his initial home completed a month or so before Kansas City hosts the National Organization of Minority Architects in October. Civic Saint is building the house at 3009 E. 20th Terr., near Montgall Park in Kansas City, Missouri.

Because the company’s building materials — clay soil mixed with lime and water — are stronger than comparable concrete blocks, Riddle markets his products as Stonehomes.

Stonehomes come in three styles ranging in size from approximately 400 square feet to 1,300 square feet and with purchase prices ranging from $80,000 to approximately $280,000. The Montgall Park home is the two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 900-square-foot Signature model listed at $184,500.

Riddle estimates it takes about 90 days to build a Stonehome based on results from their Vine Street Pilot Build last summer.

In addition to being strong, Civic Saint’s Stonehomes are fireproof, insect proof, eco-friendly, and non-toxic. The latter point is especially poignant to Riddle, whose cancer may have come from growing up in a home where both his parents smoked.

To build a Stonehome, Civic Saint uses compressed earthen blocks (CEBs), which resemble large LEGO bricks. CEBs are composed of mostly clay soil and small amounts of lime and water, which are hydraulically compressed and cured.

CEB production requires less energy and emits fewer carbon emissions compared to concrete, which results in significant CO₂ emissions. ​Global cement manufacturing produced 1.6 billion metric tons of CO₂ in 2022, which is about 8% of the world's total CO₂ emissions, according to the World Economic Forum.

Civic Saint’s compressed earthen blocks, or CEBs.

By transforming local soil into durable building materials, Civic Saint not only reduces the environmental footprint associated with transporting construction materials but also promotes sustainable land use practices. Civic Saint’s approach shows how innovative construction methods can contribute to environmental sustainability and community revitalization.

Civic Saint is also a way for Riddle to pay a living wage as an employer — invoking Henry Ford’s philosophy of paying workers enough to buy the product they are making — and to redress the legacy of housing discrimination against Black people. 

“I wanted to find a way that we could take ownership of our own destinies and literally use the soil from under our feet to build our own futures,” he said.

Riddle earned some time in the spotlight when comedian Amy Poehler featured him in a 2023 episode of her Peacock series "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,” which helped him grieve the death of his parents by decluttering his basement of the material they had collected in 40 years of marriage. He was battling cancer at the time they died 14 months apart in 2018 and 2019.

Civic Saint has also earned cash and recognition from the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and as the 2023 winner of AltCap’s Your Biz Pitch Competition Changemaker Award.

Not only did the AltCap award finance a consultation with architects, Riddle said, the recognition gave him visibility — and validity — “because they're not going to give that award to a nice idea.”

Civic Saint plans to start residential and commercial sales by the end of April. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to start@civicsaint.com