But it didn’t sell—people preferred to build new houses with bricks rather than protect their old ones with plaster. Noting this preference, researchers at LafargeHolcim’s R&D lab in Lyon, France, began testing ways to mix cement and dirt for bricks. Citing research by a brickmaking NGO in India, the company claims that DuraBric blocks release 13 times less CO² than burnt bricks. Meanwhile Perrot’s team is working to persuade local government officials to promote the use of DuraBric blocks in public construction projects. Perrot said that in countries like Morocco people adamantly prefer cement blocks over earthy ones.