• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, May 13, 2016

On Nov. 5, 2015, the region of Mariana became the victim of the greatest environmental disaster in the history of Brazil. The collapse of the Fundao Dam brought a sea of mud that covered dozens of cities, destroying houses, schools and hospitals.

Grey Brazil partnered with engineers and ecological bricks factory, Ecobrick, to take the the mud that destroyed so much and turn it into nontoxic raw material to be used to produce bricks that will help rebuild the area. Bricks from Mariana are up to seven times more resistant than ordinary clay bricks, and 3,000 have been created, to date, by hand.

A plant is in the works, which will increase production to an industrial scale. The Bricks from Mariana factory will have a 100% local workforce, giving back 80 jobs to the community. By year's end, more than 5 million kilograms of mud will have been removed, producing 1.2 million bricks, enough to rebuild homes for 300 families.  See how the process works.