I had always suspected that one could build an entire house from what went into the landfill, and, sure enough, it's true.

Tile is going to the landfill by the metric ton. All we have to do it gather it up, glue it down to the floor and grout it. Then you have a tile floor, and not just any tile floor: it's a mosaic of your own choosing.

It just makes sense to build them a house they are used to.

If I had my way, if I was lucky enough, if I could be on the brink my entire life - that great sense of expectation and excitement without the disappointment - that would be the perfect state.

I decided to set out to prove that you could make a reasonable living building for the poor using recycled materials and only hiring unskilled labor.

If you could build a house on a trampoline, that would suit me fine.