Recipe
Find out recipes for wall, plasters used by natural builders in different places in India and outside India– where you can learn how they have used different materials available locally to adapt to their requirements in the houses and other buildings. You can understand the various mixes and the property of materials specified in the example, relate it to the kind of materials you have, test the proportions with few variations to see how the materials work in your site. The same proportions cannot be recreated, but can help you find your own recipes.
Humans come in constant fight with termites, while if we can understand their way of functioning, natural remedies derived from plants can keep them away and resolve this fight. Read this article for do it yourself natural termite repellent derived from plants.
The ranges of different natural building techniques out there are many and all of them are appealing. These wall systems use locally available renewable materials and focus on minimizing the negative ecological impact.
Master Mason Abdul Razak ji talks about Thappi Plaster and the peculiarities of the plaster. Read about how Thappi Plaster with admixtures is applied on diverse surfaces and types of Lime in Rajasthan he has worked with.
In his journey of explorations in Traditional Indian Lime Plasters, Biju Bhaskar meets Yusuf ji, a traditional natural colourist, who worked mainly on paintings and murals (on lime plaster) for over 50 years. Read more about his expertise in different sources of Natural Colours and time-tested techniques of application
The beauty of Indian plasters is that it utilises different natural derivatives from trees and herbs to increase the molecular strength, termite resistance and water repelling quality. Kitchen ingredients like Methi (fenugreek), Gur (jaggery), Kadukkai (Haritaki), Gooseberry, herbs like…
In a village called Tehla near Jaipur, crushed lime waste ‘Bagra’ is extensively used for mortars, plasters as well as for making flat lime roofs. These exemplify the beauty, strength and possibilities that lie within a natural material like lime.
Cement is hailed as the ultra-modern building material, coming together with steel to reach new heights that mankind has never dared to reach before. In only about hundred years of its existence, cement has acquired the trust of the masses
Understanding lime with real heroes of natural buildings are the ones who have worked extensively, trained themselves and carried forward the traditions of building that their ancestors have taught them
Raman Cheruvayal’s home, a traditional paddy farmer who collects indigenous seeds, setting an example for all the farmers to be in touch ..
