Integrated Road Sustainability Model (MISR): A Framework for Evaluating Rural Road Interventions in Developing Countries

Abstract Rural roads are essential for socioeconomic development in Mozambique, but their performance is often constrained by climate-related deterioration, limited maintenance resources, and dependence on conventional construction materials. Meanwhile, agricultural residues generated in rural communities remain underutilised despite their potential contribution to sustainable infrastructure solutions. This study assessed the availability of coconut husk residues and the willingness of local communities to participate in their valorisation for rural road construction in Larde District, Nampula Province, Mozambique. A survey-based mixed-method approach was applied to 124 respondents to evaluate resource availability, local acceptance, and participation potential. Descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression were used to analyse the data. Results show that 96.0% of households owned coconut trees and 97.6% supported the use of coconut husk ash in road construction. Respondents had a mean age of 39.8 ± 8.7 years, while households owned an average of 17.4 ± 18.9 coconut trees and generated 23.6 ± 21.7 kg of coconut husks per month. Coconut tree ownership was strongly associated with monthly husk production (r = 0.84), and the regression model Y = 3.10 + 1.17X explained 71% of the observed variation in residue generation (R² = 0.71). Community willingness to participate in residue collection, ash production, and road maintenance exceeded 98%, resulting in a Community Participation Index of 99.2%. Estimated annual coconut husk production reached 28.2 tonnes, suggesting sufficient local availability for pilot-scale interventions. The findings indicate that integrating agricultural waste valorisation with community participation can support low-cost, climate-resilient, and socially accepted rural road development in Mozambique.