Concrete is the oldest and most widely used construction material and it is composed of cement, aggregates (coarse and fine) and water in certain particular proportions. It is easily obtainable, strong, durable and relatively cheap. However, the concrete industry is one of the major consumers of the natural resources. Majority of the cementitious binder used in concrete is based on Portland cement clinker which is an energy intensive process.

In rural areas, piped water connectivity is unreliable as it is usually limited but has a high demand. This has necessitated the people living in the rural areas to opt for cheaper, timesaving and less tiresome techniques to obtain their water and thus turn to rainwater harvesting. RWH is cheaper compared to the centralized water system in that the water is free of charge and the area of study receives rainfall throughout the year (OpenStreetMap, n.d.). Therefore, the only cost incurred is from buying and installing conveyance and storage facilities.

Over the period of time cement and lime have been the main materials used in chemical stabilization of soils. This has led to the depletion and increase in cost of these two materials and thus it has become a necessity to find other materials which can be used in place of them. In the production of cement there has been a considerable production of carbon dioxide and also dust which lead to environmental pollution, Sear (2005). Therefore it is required to minimize usage of cement in order to also check the environmental pollution.