Almost Near the End

After the Chennai trip, we realized that we didn't have much time left till the end of the course. So we got into the finishing stages of refining our domes and stuff. But along with this we also had to start building our walls and thus come up with ideas for that. Now initially, there were supposed to be four walls, one for each group, but looking at the amount of time left, one wall was given to two groups collectively. 

So my crew, The Hatchets collaborated with Chickichad Bamboo and we started deciding on the design of the wall. We finally decided on a huge octopus sculpture with its tentacles intertwining with each other and going around and over the two sides of the wall. Our design also included bottles shaped like fish, cut bamboo shoots as peep holes and a seating area with a niche shaped like a seashell on the inside.

Once we started working, we realized that we didn't have enough time and worked in overdrive. The mud making itself would take up a majority of our time, and then our domes needed to be plastered as well. We got our wall up and a basic structure of the octopus as well and we moved into the next week.

So the next week had major things in the agenda. The main two things were to finish the wall and to fire our smaller domes. So we fired up the kiln for the two smaller domes of the lot along with some mud sculptures. For the two bigger ones, we made an outdoor kiln ourselves. This we made with a basic brick structure on which the domes were mounted. They were packed with straw, leaves, branches and twigs fully and then covered with them as well. Then they were covered with a mud mix plaster to seal off all the gaps. Then the whole structure was lit up so that it would turn into terracotta. As the fuel inside started to burn, the plaster began to collapse. ‘Plaster disaster’ as Jackson called it. But the fire kept going with someone or the other checking on it. 

The smaller domes were fit into the kiln in one way or the other and sealed in with factory bricks. A pyrometer was plugged in to check the temperature and all the gaps were filled in with clay. The wood was fed into the fire continuously. This was to be done for more than a day. Meanwhile we got ready for our big pizza party as we were staying late for the firing. We prepared everything for it, right from the dough to the sauces to the toppings. We baked them in Yohaan and Priya’s  outdoor oven and had them sizzling hot after a lot of fighting I must add. The dessert was Akshaya’s chocolate and almond cake which was scrumptious. We stayed back till it was dark and with a content stomach we headed back home.

The next day we were back to the wall. To our dismay, the domes in the outdoor fire didn't survive the night, but the kiln ones still needed a whole day. We realized that we won’t be able to plaster our domes AND build the wall in the same day, as it was our last day before our break starts. So we would have to come back to Terrapin after the break instead of what was planned earlier. So we strove to complete our walls, this time with the fresh mud dug up in Yohaan’s backyard which was simply beautiful. We completed our Octopus, eight legs and all scaling their way across the wall. The bench was on the inside with a cool side table with a bottle design on it. We worked really hard to make the octopus look like an octopus and I think we succeeded in the end.  We had to hammer small pieces of bamboo in the bamboo head and the tentacles for extra support as they were quite heavy and may be prone to falling down during our break. As we would be meeting our Doc Oc after almost two weeks, this was a risk that we were not eager to take and thus the precautions. We finished much after the other group. But we were treated by Priya’s candied orange zest cake and tea before leaving.

As Design Earth almost comes to a close, I don’t know how to describe it. It has been incredible and I wish that we do it justice in the last three days that we come back here. Waiting…

Chengalpattu:Chennai

September 18-22, 2013

Chengalpattu. Chennai. Tamil Nadu. Words fall short to describe this trip. It was sheer perfection and one
of the best moments of our Design Earth Course.

The sole purpose of the trip was to build an oven for Rom, the owner of Caradi Malai Frams in Chengelpattu. Quite the animal lover, Rom was quite an interesting character. He showed us his snake catching tools and his vast farm with great gusto.

Our journey began from Bangalore, where our slightly late train at night sent us to our destination. We woke up in the morning, sweaty and sticky to the humid Chennai air. After figuring out the tickets we took a local train to Chengelpattu. Five minutes into the journey, we realized that the train that we had taken was wrong. In a frenzy we got off at the next station to realize that  a few of us hadn't made it out. With a few panicky phone calls to and fro, we figured out the details and got onto the right train and our absconding partners also joined us at the next station. So with a little bit of a shock we reached our final destination to be greeted by Rom at the station. We made it to the farms, weary and hot under the Tamilian sun. We were met by Rhea,who was the caretaker of the place and who over the next few days would show us around. With brief introductions and refreshing lemon juice we took a tour of the farm. We were met by the green scenery and different kinds of insects. We saw an emu as well as a 200 year old well. We saw the delightful pool in front of Rom's house, free at our disposal. While eating lunch we saw different snake skins and porcupine quills around us. And after seeing our living quarters which included tents and some beautiful cottages,we started working.

Now the cement base was already built for us, so we started with the main structure. We laid out our bricks, which were special ones with some amount of aluminum in them, onto the surface after making some measurements. With the help of Rom's spirit level (his 'family heirloom' as it was called) we managed to make them level while cementing them. After that we put on the sand and with a little bit of water, we shaped it into a dome. We covered it with newspapers, as its main purpose is to give the shape and once the oven's done and dry, we have to pull out the sand and the newspaper tells us when to stop. We were supposed to do it on the last day, but sadly it wasn't dry enough. We ended our day with a good swim till it became dark.We saw Rhea put up the cameras at night to spot the animals and saw a few creepy crawlies on the way.At dinner we had emu meat to our surprise, which tasted pretty good.

The next morning, we started early wit a trek up the surrounding mountains. We started work early and finished it fast too. We put on the first coat of mud that we had been sifting since forever, that also resulted in a few cut fingers. Jackson had brought along a wooden frame for the opening of the oven, which we put there and started constructing the entrance with bricks around it. After slapping the first layer flat, we started the second one with lots of hay in it which was to burn out once the oven is heated, thus giving it insulation, We filled in all the gaps, made it smooth. Also I forgot to mention, that all the mud mixes were made with water mixed with lime to ward off any insects. Thus this long and tedious procedure we managed to finish in two days. What followed was Arnab and his brilliant sculpting skills. We make a normal mud mix with coconut fibers, that all of us were comfortable with and felt like heaven under our feet after the prickly and pointy hay. Arnab did most of the sculpting of the leopard with help from us here and there. After it was finished we kept painting more coats of lime over it, to make it completely secure as well as smooth from the water. After such an exhausting day, none of us even had the energy to go swim or do anything thing else at at. At night we went on our camera walks, but this time with a UV light torch, which made the scorpions glow neon green in the dark.

The next and our second last day was as we call it our 'chilling day'. A day well deserved after our toil. We swam for ages, gave the oven some finishing touches and most of all got ready for our big barbecue night. I personally cut a chicken for the first time. We kept the chicken and emu meat to marinate, with paneer and capsicum for the vegetarians. We set up or bamboo fire place and placed the food on it to cook on a slow fire, covered with banana shoots. We also put some potatoes and onions wrapped in aluminum foil in the fire to be cooked. We barbecued into the night. It was a great night to remember as we all sang to Devahish's guitar.

With a heavy heart we got our stuff together and proceeded to leave the next day, our sunglasses on, into the blazing sun, in a cramped train, back to the cool Bangalore temperature. The amount that we learnt in Chengelpattu,it certainly was a trip to remember always.

Hosur Awesomeness!

The title of this post itself gives away the amazing time we had in Hosur. Since we didn't make it to the Crocodile Bank this weekend, we went to Jackson and Arzu's Farmhouse in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Needless to say it was a brilliant experience.

Being not very fond of road trips and on top of that being in a cramped car,I was thankful to reach in one piece. The journey was of a few hours and we had a few breaks for fuel and food. When we finally arrived, we were overwhelmed by the place. It's been designed by Arzu's mom and is really incredible. It really encompasses the idea of innovative design. Every aspect of it seems well thought of and all of it has been brought together to form a great house. After a brief recce of the house and some food we got to work.

So to plaster we need to mix soil, sand and cement in 1:3:1 ratio. So we sifted our ingredients and mixed them in this proportion, added water and proceeded towards the oven that needed plastering. Jackson showed us how to do it, and so with little plastic pieces we started on the structure, sometimes maneuvering with our hands. We filled in the gaps and tried at the same time to maintain the relief design on the oven. The oven had been lighted a bit, to dry it up completely.After that we painted over it with mud and water,thus restoring it's natural colour. After this dries off, a final coat of plaster will be put on it. We finished fairly quickly, within an hour I guess, may be because there were so many of us and also because the pool was calling out to us. And that was it. Work over.

We jumped into the pool and the rest is history. It was total epicness. We swam, played, tried to touch the bottom of the 14 feet pool and what not. After a couple of hours we  finally began our journey out of the pool, with some difficulty I must add. We dripped into our rooms, and one by one took our baths. Finally clean (somewhat) we proceeded into an evening of music and singing. Trying to remember every song that we could remember, we sang to Devasheesh's guitar and Arnab was the star of the night.

Some food down and more music later, we were ready to fall asleep, but we kept ourselves awake. We lit our bonfire and brought out  a farewell cake for Arnab. After some epic mimicry from Shail and lots of appreciations for Arnab we got  a little sentimental, as it was Arnab's official last class with us. So with that and the fire crackling behind us, we danced the night away, with Xavier's car belting out one song after another.But we weren't done of course and the next round in the pool began at some 1:00 am in the night. The water was incredibly cold and somehow we managed. After an hour or two of fun, we got out and went to our burning out bonfire which felt so good against our freezing skin. We roasted potatoes and sat by the fire and ate them, all the while really living the term, 'hot potatoes'. We finally called it a night after that and barely had my head hit the pillow, that I was gone. It was 4:00 am at that time.

We got up some four hours later. Had breakfast quickly and started planning our trip back. Got our stuff together and did some last minute photo(and photobombing) sessions. So everyone has an ample supply of photos for Facebook now.

With a heavy heart and lots of memories we left. But Jackson let us know that we will be returning. So really waiting for that!!
See you soon Hosur!

Natural Building

Carbon Footprint. Ever heard of this word? It is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.What are the ways that we can reduce it and give our future generations a sustainable future? Or a future at all for that matter.

One of the best and slowly getting popular way is Nature Building. This is what we've been learning about and doing for the past couple of weeks. Not only is it inexpensive, it is also eco friendly and economical. All the materials used are from the earth and can go back go the earth if anything is left. Hence there is almost no wastage at all. Thus a general earthen house construction site does not have something called a 'dumpster'. 

You spend much less than what a normal modern house costs as everything you need can be found easily and sometimes in your own backyard. It also makes you connect with the earth in a way that is not possible in our concrete homes. The materials that we use in this process include cob, clay, bamboo, fibers etc. They are easily decomposable and do not contain any chemicals at all. Also this kind of building can be done by people of all ages including elders and kids as there are no heavy objects to carry and any chance of an accident is almost nil.  

The kind of peace that you get when you live in a house made out earth is incomparable, as it seems as if it is growing out of the earth itself. 

Nature as it is not linear. The buildings of today are very monotonous, angular and full of rectilinear lines and unbroken colours. When we are in a natural place like a jungle or a park, the environment has a soothing effect of our eyes. So when we built houses out of these very substances, they also are not very geometric. Thus just being in this atmosphere, can calm one down. And when you are calm and not spending much on building a house, more opportunities open up for you as you aren't wasting money on processed industrial materials and goods.

These houses are durable and some earthen houses in India have been around for more than a thousand years and in this time almost forty generations have come and gone. So basically a house we build now will be around for a really long time and will give our future generations a clean, green future. Also the materials used are very healthy as compared to the toxins we intake whilst living in a concrete house. 

This concept is still coming up and is spreading fast and vast. Many people are switching to earthen houses and in the long run, this practice is going to be beneficial to all. So really it encompasses the idea of, "Think global, act local".

Week 6-More to come!!

August 22,2013

Week 6 is our last week at Terrapin before workshop starts and yesterday was our last day there as we have a field trip tomorrow. Yay! So it was quite a random day as we strove to finish all our work as we come back here after three weeks.
From the tool mastery component I got blade sharpening off my list and started shaving the bamboo for our basket into thinner strips to take back home as they'll get dry here. So we need to soak them in water and start weaving as soon as possible. As I speak, they are lying in a bucket of water, just soaking away.

Also, we finally finished our bigger dome. We had to make the mud mix a couple of times, but finally completed it. We put bottles on top, made two entrances, an overhead porch sort of thing for the upper entrance to stop water from coming in. We didn't fix the ramp as yet as we still fear for its safety from the rabbits and plus we're coming after three weeks, so it should look pretty for the final unveiling. We covered the structure with tarpaulin and are looking forward to seeing it soon.
Kinnary and I shall finish the basket by then. If we run out of bamboo, we'll have to wait till we go back after workshop obviously. Also there was a sculpture element in our class yesterday as we proceeded to make small mud sculptures from a rice husk mud mix. Our crew sadly couldn't join as we had to finish our structure. But it was fun all the same to see all the things everyone had made.

Looking forward to Hosur, plastering and obviously the awesome pool!!

Week 5-Terrapin Farms

August 16, 17, 2013

We came back to Terrapin to see our smaller domes relatively dry and set in search for a suitable place for our bigger one. This one has to be built in place and we found a nice, cozy spot for it inside one of the hen cages with a lot of rabbits around. As half of us set into building the dome, the other half started making the basket.
Kinnary and I were in the basket group and we started the tedious process of splitting bamboo for the basket for our smaller dome. A few grueling hours and several cut fingers later, we had our basic skeleton ready. We tied the ends together alternatively so that the basket would not lose shape as we started weaving it.
After lunch we mud painted each other's faces before working. Just when we were going to start weaving, the heavens started pouring down on us. It started raining cats and dogs. We quickly covered our structures and waited for the downpour to subside. But after a while, we realized that we were waiting in vain and the rain was refusing to go away. So after some hot tea, we called it a day.

The next day when we reached Terrapin, we were dismayed to see that half of the bamboo we had split had gotten blown away in the rain the day before. Quite a frustrating situation as splitting bamboo can take ages.
Jackson showed us some knots that can be very useful when tying or carrying bamboo. This included the clove hitch, etc. We got ropes and started practicing on pieces of bamboo and ourselves. After that we did some soil testing by putting soil in a jar with water and shaking it up. The first layer to settle is sand, second is the silt and third is the clay. We labelled the first layer and let them set.
We made a huge mud mix and started our day. We switched roles and so it was my turn to go into the chicken shelter and work on the dome. They had already finished quite a bit and also put in bottles sticking in like perches. So along with a bit of foul odor and our rabbit friends we started working on it. We finished till the cylindrical part ends and cut out the two doorways. We put in the platform inside for the second story and also made the ramp for it. As the rabbits kept biting our ramp, we covered it with the brown rope after soaking it in water. This saved it from their gnawing as well as gave it a nice look.
The bamboo has been split for the basket. We should start hopefully by next week and also finish our big structure as we have a field trip on the weekend. So looking forward to that and loads of fun as it'll be our last week before workshop. Also we somewhat start on the wall next week and see if we can start plastering. So a lot to do!