Wood, Stone, Straw, Lime, Clay, Mud, Cow-Dung

The foundation is entirely made of stones, constructed without any mortar, making it a dry stone foundation. The plinth consists of stones with lime, along with Suruki mortar. Suruki is similar to brick powder, serving as an aggregate for the mortar.

The walls are made out of cob (mud, sand, straw, cow dung mixed in the right proportions). They are load bearing walls which are 1.5 feet wide at the bottom and tapering to become 9 inch wide at the top.

The plaster is a very basic mud plaster, which is made out of finely sieved mud, sand and flour paste.

The roof has been constructed as a partial “Reciprocal” roof and covered with Mangalore tiles.

Flooring is made of Cod wood since they had access to a lot of felled trees in the village. The trunks of the trees were cut into 2” high discs and placed on the floor. The spaces that remained in between were filled with a grout made out of saw dust and fevicol. Once it set, the floor was sanded and polished for a smooth finish.

They have gone with a dry septic tank where a mixture using dry leaves, lime, and sawdust is used. The three components are mixed outside and mixture dumped into the septic tank, filling at least 70% of the tank with this combination. Over 4 to 5 years, the waste keeps getting decomposed before the need to refill the mix. The bathroom has been made out of bamboo but on the in-side they have a regular bathroom fitted with tiles.

They have their cow shed! A tank of 30000 ltrs collects the rain water.

Mandana folk art from Rajasthan In the meditation room on the upper floor, the circular wall depicts the ``Tantra of inner awakening,`` showcased through the low bas-relief clay work made from a mixture of local clay, cow dung, dried grass, natural gum and a paste of neem leaves, and it is embellished in art Mandana using tantra motifs. The artist’s use of Mandana in the interior palette of the house is a return to tradition, since it is a form that was traditionally used to manifest positivity and divine energies within a living space. Natural colours were used for the art that allows the walls to “breathe” and light shades were used so they reflect the light coming into the house. Some of the outer wall space has been left bare, with no artwork, so that in the morning one can enjoy the play of sunlight and shadow from the swinging branches and leaves of the surrounding trees.

They couldn’t secure the right manpower, and those they did find were unfamiliar with the materials required. The process was quite experimental, where they tested the proportions of sand, clay, and lime a few days before application. The results were unpredictable, and when failures occurred on the walls, they had to scrap the entire section and start over. They discovered, not surprisingly, the whole process of re-doing and brainstorming with volunteers was actually, a lot of fun! Slaking huge amounts of lime was also a major challenge.

``Volunteer at other peoples works and get decent hands on experience before starting a project. Also make sure that you are able to visualize what you are trying to build before building it. If you cannot visualise it do not proceed.``