Bamboo Category Posts
Handigaunko Jatra
There is so much indigenous construction knowledge out there with the people, which unfortunately is not documented or even explored by the academic or the professional world. We just “discovered” a very interesting bamboo connection and structural technique, practiced by the newars of Kathmandu. Please take a look at the pictures. These lightweight structures are used to rotate heavy structures during the famous ritual of handigaun ko jatra. If we can properly study these structure, we think, they can be appropriated in modern designs. At an initial observation, it looks like these structures can be adapted to make structures likes domes, bridges, roofs etc..
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Architecture as an anthorpological study
We believe architecture is not about imposing ideas. It’s an organic process, its a transfusion. We believe that the essense of building in a culture, comes from living in a culture. Its not a technical process, it involves anthropological study. We have been living, farming, eating with the farmers in Harsar, so that our architecture blends in and gets accepted to the people. How many times have we seen technically superior and “contemporary” architecture that failes to get appropriated by the intended user?
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Bamboo in Budget 2008
Here is what our Hon’ Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai had to offer to the bamboo sector:
216.. An extensive plantation in public and private lands will be carried out in the form of a campaign with the objective of expanding the forest area and reducing the excessive pressure on public forest area as well as to increase income generating opportunities through strengthening of local supply. For this, 11.5 million plants including fodder grass,cane, bamboos and herbs will be produced and planted and provision of care will also be made. The policy of “One Place One Species” will be adopted in such plantation programmes.
217. At least 75000 families from poor class Dalits, Janjatis and other marginalized people will be provided with the opportunity of income generation through forest based industries and occupations and leasehold and community forests.
We need to congratulate our Finance Minister for encouraging marginalized people to use their sophisticated traditional skills as a source of livelihood. Perhaps we just need to encourage some designs as well, so that the traditional products get the competitive edge. “Design”, is always perceived to be somewhat of a decadent activity, so it hardly invokes a policy level debate. There are always budgets for the “development” of traditional skills, but yet this sector tend not to get the expected result as these product fail to entertain the modern market because they dont have the designs. People have realized that the market is essential; but not the design. Its a catch 22 situation- you dont have the market if dont have the design and vice versa. It’s clear that a design institution need to be established, so that people can use their traditional skills to make products that cater to the modern sensibility
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Truss Fabrication
One of the main reasons for disuse of bamboo in modern construction is due to a lack of skilled human resources. For better or worse bamboo can not be standardized. Bamboo comes in different shapes and sizes which makes it a very difficult material to work with. Bamboos are very hard to produce in an industrial scale. But we take that as a blessing. Sustainability, we believe, also means scale. It is very difficult to make things sustainable and yet cater to a highly industrialized and consumerist lifestyle. Anyways, to work with bamboo requires lots of patience, creativity, improvisation and obviously skills. One has to treat every bamboo as an individual, as they look and behave differently. With a little bit of encouragement, bamboo can challenge any material. With our primitive tools, we are here fabricating bamboo trusses (10 meters), that are strong, durable and perhaps more elegant than steel.
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Making the bamboo pavilion
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Bamboo Pavilion
Bamboo at work. In the the village of Harsar, where bamboo has been used for ages, this demonstration does indeed come as a revelation. The word “truss” is entering the local vocabularly, and indeed the local sceptics of bamboo are thinking twice. The local carpenters are lining up to learn the new techniques.
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Adobe, Cob and Bamboo
The work in Janakpur had stalled for various political reasons, one being kidnapping of our overseer. Well! That all seem pretty normal these days. Anyways, the villagers put all their effort to resume the work. It just heartbreaking to see, how much love and effort people have put into this project. We not only see work in Harsar as our seminal work because we have an opportunity to try out different construction methodologies like rammed earth, stablized earth blocks, adobe and cob but the social aspect of working with the community has just priceless.
This is a section of a wall with a high stone plinth and foundation, two layers of burnt bricks, adobe wall for thermal mass vertical and horizonatal bamboo reinforcement against earthquake which are all topped off with cob wall for a better adobe and bamboo connection.
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Bamboo Truss
We had been “underground” in Harsar trying to finish the work at for CareNepal. Here is the first installation of our truss. This is just a training for bamboo connection to the local craftsmen. The real thing is yet to come!! The current unrest has put a hold in the progress, lets pray that the work will resume soon.
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Thatchted Roof
courtesy: Egr. Pratik Lohani
Here is an example of a thatched roof from Japan. Thatched roof tradition is a somewhat in danger of getting lost because it requires very intricate skills to install. However, properly put thatched roof can last for more then 30 years. The advantages of thatched roof include very good insulation, available local resources, natural beauty and cost effectiveness. The disadvantages include high skills. If not properly installed it can invite mice and bird problems and require high maintenance.
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Bamboo Temporary Shelter
Here is an example of a temporary shelter built by Abari in Janakpur Nepal. It is built as a storage place for all the bamboo that we have treated for the construction. It was designed in order to resist dampness and provide enough air circulation to store and dry the bamboo.
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