For the last few years we have been trying to start a pre-fabrication center to make bamboo structures. This is our first attempt!  We have been continuously refining our technology so that bamboo construction does not become very labor intensive. Moreover, due to labor shortage in Nepal we have been empowering women to do our work. We are proud of this project because it was initated by our female dominated team headed by Sulava. Our vision is to provide enough skills and  technology so that bamboo and earth becom widely accessible as modern construction materials. Our main challenges are grading of the material according to size and strength, providing standardized joints, upgrading of technology so that joints are easy to make and protect against weathering and discoloration. We’d like to thank Sulava, Rita, Srijana, Rammed Hari and Sanjay for their help.

Earthen plaster

Here is our finished earthen plaster over a concrete wall. It has three layers of mix which include husk, sand, clay and starch paste. Traditionally in Nepal, people do mud wash which only includes clay, dung and sometimes husk, although this method  produces beautiful textures it requires constant maintenance. It was hard to convince our artisans and clients to add as much as 75% sand and to perfect a real plaster rather than a wash. Our 1 and 1/2 inch thick plaster not only looks beautiful, but its maintenance free. Moreover it is salubrious for our health and the environment. Our bamboo lamps blends in pretty well and indeed accentuates the beauty of earth. Congratulations to Sulava and her women powered team.

A good example of bamboo and earth house built by INBAR. According to architect Nripal Adhikary, the house is made entirely out of local material, even the joinery was made using wood and rattan. The walls are built using Latin American barahaque style, that is bamboo framed plastered with earth. Final coating is done with lime plaster, which is not only water resistant but also works as preservative on bamboo. It was treated using ABARI built boucherie technique. The design preserves the integrity of Bhutanese Architecture, but tries to improvise on it by replacing timber with more ecological material viz. bamboo. This house will shelter District Chief and the Royal Government of Bhutan is trying to built more structures like these in coming years.

Bamboo lamps

We have been trying this model where by we teach community members to make bamboo crafts. Here is a first batch of prototype built by our women team. We are taking orders!

You must be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

As part of our campaign to create Village of the Future we have acquired  just acquired about 2 hectares of land in Chitwan, which we will develop into organic  permaculture farm with primary focus on lemongrass, ginger, chamomile, lentil and of course bamboo. We are building upon what our team member Ramkrishna had started 10 years ago where he magically transformed his degraded land into a vibrant organic fruit farm. Based on the success of our farm, we will extend this into a community based enterprise, where we will pool marginal land of different community members and reclaim it by planting bamboo and other high value crops which will bring extra income to farmers, protect land and preserve biodiversity. We believe if the community is involved it is possible to preserve biodiversity, reclaim degraded land and make sustainable livelihood.

Our latest creation. If you like them, we are taking orders!