Building with Bamboo and Cob

This very special Bamboo and Cob Building workshop is carefully designed with detailed theory sessions, plantation visit, demonstrations and lots of hands-on practical work. We will be building two structures together.
The Course will include :

• Bamboo as a regenerative building alternative
• Bamboo species and their structure
• Bamboo plantation and harvesting basics
• How to treat Bamboo to prevent rot and pests
• Bamboo joinery details and their types
• Rope lashing techniques for bamboo roof systems and benefits of building without nails
• Making scaled Bamboo models
• Designing a structure with Bamboo
• Learning to bend Bamboo for design
• Weaving with Bamboo
• Foundation and Truss details of Bamboo
• Roof and Floor types with Bamboo
• Testing soil to identify ratios of cob
• Making cob with all kinds of soil
• Building sculpted strong walls with cob
• Incorporating niches, shelves, windows, glass bricks in cob
• Learning about stone foundation and roofing styles for cob structures

Plus, Geeli Mitti is the only place in the country where you will get to actually touch, see, walk-in and experience homes built with all the below techniques including a walkthrough on how each one was built, learnings, what can go wrong, what always goes right –

— Earthbag construction
— Cob construction
— Bamboo construction
— Wattle and Daub construction
— Adobe construction
— Timber frame construction
— Stone construction
— Thatching
— Slate roof
— Living roof
— Reciprocal roof
— Earthen flooring
— Wooden flooring
— Plastering techniques
— Lime as mortar or plaster
— Wood fired rocket stove oven

There are also documentary and movie screenings held.

Teachers —

Sourabh Gujar :

“Sourabh Gujar is an architect who practices ecological design. He has been working with bamboo for the last four years in different parts of India. He works with his knowledge of rural architecture and supports building with locally available materials and techniques.

He is an alumni of CGBMT, Bangalore and BambooU, Bali and a learner for life. He is also a permaculture enthusiast.”

Naveen Kumar :

“Equipped with a B.Tech and Rural Development background, Naveen has been driven to find solutions for making basic structures from local materials available in abundance.

Naveen learnt through different places and people, including Geeli Mitti, several techniques over the years, including lashing with rope that empowers him to transform materials into custom structures. He is the one you’d look up to in a deserted island, to build the shelter and the raft!

He is a budding Permaculturist but also the Secretary of a cooperative society back in rural Palna, leading projects to empower the local community.”

Shagun Singh :

“Shagun Singh has been credited and acknowledged for her seminal work in the field of sustainable living and ecological housing solutions.

In her hands, natural materials transform into curvaceous super-homes that not only look stunning but also create an ambient temperature inside and maintain optimum humidity levels. The homes are solar passively designed to take care of energy, water and waste management needs of the residents.

Both at the Geeli Mitti research centre in Nainital, India and at govt and private universities, she has been leading education towards combating environmental pollution and reducing carbon emissions generated by the construction and real estate industry.

Shagun has been driving innovation by making sustainable architecture based products available to all. Her Foundation’s community initiatives additionally support rural communities preserve their culture and heritage with eco-tourism, vernacular architecture and traditional farming.

She comes with significant corporate management experience and is a certified Train The Trainer for Permaculture and several farming techniques. She is widely regarded as a self-taught leading authority on natural architecture and been recognised by Vogue as one of the 12 leading women in India for environment conservation.”

Abhilash Ningappa :

We have also invited a very special guest faculty to add movement, music, yoga, dance and joy to our days of building together.

“Abhilash is the Founder and Artistic Director of Play Practice Artists Residency (INDIA) in Bangalore. Recognised and won awards internationally as a performer, choreographer and teacher of improvisation and composition workshops. He is also a yoga practitioner and martial art teacher, trained in Kalari Payattu and contemporary dance. He post graduated in SEAD (Salzburg) and Post Masters in APASS (Advanced performance and scenography studies) (Belgium).”