Adobe and Bamboo Research Institute

PERSONNELLE

Abari was established by young engineer-architect duo Shishir Gairhe and Nripal Adhikary. In a country where the construction scene is dominated by the older generation and the young professionals are migrating to industrialized countries, the Abari team not just wanted to set a trend in an architectural field, but wanted to set an example on the whole process of architecture. The Abari team are not just confined to designing, they make sure their dedicated team are involved from mobilizing community members, teaching skilled and semi-skilled workers to the procuring, researching and streamlining natural construction processes.. They don’t work as contractor, they believe in sharing skills, techniques and idea. They have a team of expert, from structural engineer to carpenters who go to the site and work and live with the local artisans, men and women, by sharing knowledge, ideas and love so that they can make something, that is more than just a structure. Furthermore, in this process, they have included young interns and students in their works, so far they have had interns from Nepal, Sweden, Canada, U.S.A and Argentina.

Nripal Adhikary has worked as a freelance architect, theater designer, painter and a graphic artist in New York City. He also worked as an designer in Hassfurt Germany. His works are built in New Mexico, USA Mongolia, and Nepal and he has traveled to more that fourteen countries learning and spreading the virtues of bamboo and adobe. He is not just a professional but a student and a researcher. He believes, that architecture, might be structurally sound and very modern in design, yet, many times they fail to get appropriated. There are cases of very modern buildings and bridges that get built but fail to be used as they fail to become sensitive to the needs of the local. In Nepal, infrastructure development has conventionally been very technocratic and they fail to integrate the traditional knowledge of the locals. He has been designing, lobbying, teaching, writing so that the design and construction become sensitive to the local context.

Shishir Garihe has completed his Civil Engineering degree on the Bangladesh Government Scholarship from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), with the a particular emphasis on flood plain and the hill tracts construction of Bangladesh. In the due course he has develop special skill in the construction with appropriate and local resources, which has been aided well by his artistic flair. He has done his masters in Engineering Management focusing on the Technology Transfer with the Sustainable Building Materials. He is also involved in the part time lecturing in different business college and also in a fashion institute.
• MSc, Engineering Management, Acme Engineering College, PU
• BSc, Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) , Bangladesh
Membership
• Nepal Engineering Committee
• Nepal Engineering Association
• Nepal Surveyor Association
• Natural Resource Development Committee

Ramkrishna Thapa has been working with adobe and bamboo since he was 6. Coming from a village setting, he learned how is parents weaved their lives out of bamboo. From food to the house columns, everything in the village was made of bamboo. He has worked with many organization promoting bamboo, but now he has found his true calling, heading the technology department of ABARI.

Munesh Bhakta Upadhayaya
MA Sociology, Diploma in Civil Engg
He has years of expertise in environmentally friendly rural community infrastructure works like green roads, dry stacked retaining walls etc. He has worked in community mobilization, disaster management and environment conservation. He has spent couple of years working with the minorities of the impoverished far west region of Nepal. His research works include emergency management and vulnerability assessment from structural and social perspective.

Rene Yadav is the senior carpenter from Janakpur. After working for about 8 years in the Gulf, he had returned to Nepal thinking its better to serve one’s own village than somebody elses. He is prominent member of our team, he accompanies ABARI wherever it goes.

Krishna Phyual is our intern who is a young dynamic and versatile. He is studying marketing. He just completed his schooling and he is searching for different options. With his superb marketing skills, we know he can sell mud and bamboo to anyone. His love of earthern material has brought him to Abari.

Shankeshwor Raj Subedi is heading our Research and Development department. He is a civil engineer by training, and with his great managerial skills and technical brain, this new department is hoping to make some radical contributions that can change the way we view the traditional materials.

Kurt Gardella (currently in Germany) has adobe mixed in his blood. He specializes not only on adobe sun dried bricks but also adobe softwares. Our website would not have been possible without him. Thanks to his effort, ABARI has been very visible on the web.

OUR DONORS

Basanta and Shova Adhikary are the modern day nomads. From the arid desert of Mongolia to the tropical farms of Laos, they have worked intensively promoting sustainable agriculture. They do what they preach. They are our major source of funding as well as inspiration.

Guido Mueller from Germany works for a Telecommuncation firm Infinion. He is indeed a great mountain hiker, he recently conquered 5000 meters in the Himalayas. He supports our Trustbari program, and he has commited 240 euro a year towards it. He is supporting Sunita and her family in Chitwan.

Bhupal Adhikary has financed everything to set up this website. And of course how integral the website has been to our publicity and daily functioning.

Arya Karki

Bikash Palikhey