The interest began when he was a Peace Corps Volunteer, living in a mud hut in Zambia. He was provided the opportunity to document the vernacular architecture in the entire country. In 2014 he ran an Indie GoGo campaign to conduct similar research in Malawi. In addition to his African Vernacular Architecture Database, his research can be seen on his websites Zambia Vernacular Architecture, Malawi Vernacular Architecture, and Swaziland Vernacular Architecture. Jon lives in Beaufort, South Carolina and is actively looking for opportunities to conduct more documentation in Africa. He can be contacted at africanvernaculararchitecture@gmail.com.