Inspired by Sourabh Phadke, we decided to build a mud and
stone structure for our residence. We decided to start small and hired a local
labour contractor to build a 2 room structure. We used laterite stone from a
quarry nearby and local mud, with mangalore tiles on wood for a roof.
With that in place, the logical next step was to experiment
with natural alternatives for internal finishes as well as the furniture. The
option was to again hire the labour contractor … or start taking baby steps
ourselves. We decided to set a date, throw in a few tools, a few friends, and
loads of experimentation!
The plan was to build a bed, a cupboard, a table and a
window sitout. Basic building blocks … laterite stone blocks, bricks, kadappa
slabs and mud mortar. We lost time to delays, plus I had underestimated the
building and learning process … we ended up with only a partly built cupboard
and a partly built window sitout. But the learning was outstanding!
We learnt how to prepare mud mortar (we truly appreciated
the versatility of lateritic soil for building purposes), we learnt masonry
basics - plumb, line, role of mortar, etc, we learnt how to cut kadappa with a
power tool.
And we had fun :) On the job, as well as off it. Be it
splashing mud on each other, going for early morning birding walks, or musical
evenings!
And we walked away with the confidence to pull off more of
this. Coming up next … more such furniture, mud plastering of internal walls,
flooring, outdoor tank.
 |
| Participants |
Anand Manjrekar … Interior Designer, perfectionist, music
aficionado.
Kalpana Dumale … Ex banker, kids’ favorite, birding
enthusiast
Milind Ghadigaonkar … maverick biker, musician (Ukulele),
Jazz singer, generally happy soul.
Dev (9yrs) and Vaidehi (8yrs) … revelling in the generous
attention of the participants and generally having a good time
Shubhra … administrator par excellence, Miss-reality-check
Mangesh … our tribal farmhand and ‘expert’ adviser
Shreesh Ponkshe (Yours truly) … the ever ready student.
No comments:
Post a Comment