The project site is located in the Pantanal in the southwest region of Brazil. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world and is listed by UNESCO as one of the world's most ecologically sensitive and important sites. There is one main dirt road, called the Transpantaneira Highway, stretching 150 kilometers from the small city Poconé to Porto Jofre, a tiny fishing village which contains a rest stop, resort, and airstrip. The drive can take three to four hours and one can expect to encounter herds of cattle and 107 wooden bridges. Porto Jofre has a small population of local fishermen and the surrounding area has a larger population of cattle- ranching pantaneiros. The area currently has no school, so members of the community have moved the 150 kilometers to Poconé or further to provide their children with an adequate education. Many of the locals would prefer to make their livelihood in the Pantanal, and would stay if there were a school nearby. We have built a school so that residents may send their children to school without having to leave the Pantanal.

Our intention was to apply local building knowledge as an attempt to understand a unique building methodology as well as to provide a means for social sustainability, ownership, and the local reproduction of the introduced design tactics. The intent of the Pantanal Partnership is not only to provide one village in Brazil with a school, but also to create a sustainable system that may be applied to similar communities worldwide.