Leadership all over the world, in dealing with housing issues, resource protection and green design, has to re-examine the potentials of traditional technologies and materials to meet the needs of affordable housing, while valuing ecology and land resources. In the past, ill-designed shelters for housing low-income populations utilized much of the world's natural resources without practicing good stewardship for the safeguarding of water, efficient use of materials and renewable resources.This primer examines the application of traditional structural wood, as it might be used in foundations to produce low-cost footing designs. This system is adaptable to low-end, conventionally unbuildable land plots, in order to provide a new approach to meeting housing needs in areas experiencing rising housing costs and diminishing land resources.