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What if the future of affordable housing were beneath your feet?

artful, affordable homes sustainably made from compressed earthen blocks for revitalization and wealth creation.

a beautiful start to a radical difference begins today...

One may apply structural design standards to earthen construction, a building material used across societies since 8700 BCE.

Civic Saint is capitalizing on this unique moment to close the racial wealth gap and revitalize red-lined neighborhoods.

Our pioneering process uses GeoNova compressed earthen blocks (CEBs), prefab manufacturing, and technology to sustainably produce artful, affordable homes and adaptivecommunities.

Our vision is to prioritize the environment while eliminating the racial wealth gap through job creation, home ownership, and their ambient economic impacts.

floating mushroom

View Civic Saint’s winning pitch presentation from the 2023 National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

three floating mushrooms

for the first time in history

twice the strength of concrete

sand texture
drone shot of iceland
rocks on beach close up
black sand texture
beach texture

GeoNova CEBs are made from 90% local, sandy clay soil (an excavation byproduct) plus 10% water and stabilizer, then hydraulically compressed and cured.

Due to their production method and composition, CEBs are generally twice as strong as a comparable concrete block as well as fireproof, insectproof, bulletproof, non-toxic, affordable, and eco-friendly.

meet the stonehome collection

natural beauty in its modern form

The Stonehome Collection

Designed using our proprietary GeoNova Compressed Earth Block (CEB) ecosystem, our Stonehome Collection of accessory and single-family homes, designed by BNIM architects, leverage CEBs for safe, healthy, and resilient living.

Learn more below.

purposeful pursuit

background texture of beach

Founded by artist and social entrepreneur Godfrey Riddle in 2020, Civic Saint’s innovative business model is informed by Riddle’s life as a gay, Black man and cancer survivor whose late parents showed him the power of homeownership. Our founding mission is in their honor.

Riddle’s experience on Amy Pohler’s new Peacock Original “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” also contributed to the social enterprise’s renewed focus because Riddle learned how to lighten his ecological footprint by imbuing his surroundings with purpose.

We are a beautiful start to a radical difference.

Press

  • Maker featured in NBC series says ‘death cleaning’ opened his eyes to grief without guilt.

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  • Can One Local Entrepreneur’s Dirt Blocks Solve Kansas City’s Affordable Housing Crisis?

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  • Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing.

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  • Kansas City's Godfrey Riddle says 'Swedish Death Cleaning' helped him find purpose again

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  • What Lies Beneath: The gentle art of Godfrey Riddle’s grief-pit cleaning

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  • Empowered belonging: KC Chamber celebrates inclusive workforce efforts with diversity honors.

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  • Big winner at GEWKC: AltCap Your Biz turns The Next Paige with $42K+ in prizes

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  • Earthen brick structure foreshadows earthen brick homes in Kansas City

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  • Kansas City business hopes to create affordable homes out of earthen blocks

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  • Earthen brick structure foreshadows earthen brick homes in Kansas City

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  • Meet LaunchKC’s latest crew of social changemakers; cohort excited for connectivity

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  • 19 local gift ideas to celebrate motherhood

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  • Block by block: Prototype builds startup’s housing vision where everyone can afford their own castle

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  • Echoing Green Announces 2024 Cohort of Fellows

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