Friday, January 29, 2016

Prototype construction started at site  -  19 Jan 2016.

 

 

After another round of presentation of the design at the the Technical Committee Meeting of the DUDBC, chaired by Shri Rabi Shah ji, Sharan and Areen visited Kaule and initiated the construction with people trained from the village earlier.

 

Here is a report:

 

Under a pleasant, cool afternoon sun, the marking for a new foundation is under progress where a building once stood before the earthquakes. 70% of the original foundation was found to be alright and has been re-used.

The west-side foundation was damaged during the earthquakes and needed to be repaired.





 Gabion retaining walls made re-using stones from demolished buildings.



On another part of the construction site, PCC blocks are being cast as substitute for 'through stones' - stones that straddle the width of the wall at regular intervals providing additional bonding and, as a result, strength. Big stones are not available in this part of Nepal naturally.
Bamboo treated by the the villagers on their own after having received training provided by us - is free of insects and dry. When Areen and Bhuval tried to extract one bamboo from the stack for testing, the whole lot came down upon their heads, giving both of them lumps, and reminding us to re-stock the first-aid kit at site. Could have been worse!
The head lumps notwithstanding - bamboos are being neatly stacked and sorted by Rohit, Bhuval, and Areen.

More bamboo has been treated and stacked against the school building to dry. Dipped for 3 weeks in the newly made 'pucca' treatment pit (pix below), this lot was treated entirely by the now-trained work force from the village.

New, permanent bamboo treatment pit.

25 feet tall bamboo growing on Santaman's land 100 metres below the village.

Timber has arrived from the saw mill in Trishuli - 30 km from Satbise at the base of Kaule hill. Everyone is excited, especially our carpenters - Rohit, Resham, Sudershan, Bhuval, Ganesh and Ayteh.

A site table for ourselves with the stacked timber, without using any tools!

Who needs a computer?

Computer or no, even site tables get hacked by sophisticated, metallic edge handlers. Suder (shan), the master carpenter in action with a hand made axe that has been sharpened enough for a shave - demonstrated by Rohit for us.
The timber is being prepared, jointed and readied for use as plinth bands in stone masonry.

The plinth band is almost ready off-site.

Two coats of Terminator is applied for termite proofing.

Computer drawings are modified for site conditions...

.... and supplemented with site sketches.

....local designs are adapted for doors and windows...

....and for traditional details like timber brackets - that cannot, and need not, be bettered...

....only admired...

like this one here.

Or this...!!! roadside Calatrava - always believed the (our) profession of architecture was more common sense and not a necessity. Enjoyed the cantilevers.

That brings us back to Rakshi. The diagramme illustrates how rakshi is made. An earhten pot (now-a-days made of aluminum) contains millet that has been mixed with a special local herb (probably a form of yeast) in water and fermented for 3 weeks in an airtight container. The fire is lit below the pot helping the alcohol to evaporate. The mouth of the pot is lidded with a conical vessel made of brass that is filled with water. This causes millet vapour condenses on reaching the cone and drips below into another, smaller, brass vessel kept inside the earthen pot. The water in the conical vessel outside the pot is replaced with cold water when it becomes hot. This process is repeated thrice, and the rakshi that has collected inside the smaller container inside is considered to be the best. More cycles of water replacement outside increase the quantity of rakshi collected but reduces its 'rarity'

Millet seeds

Evening after work - freshly made rakshi with crisp, stir fried home grown soya beans and onions.

Cheers!! Areen and Me and the prototype site above, behind us. Manu joins us for three weeks starting 8th Feb after Areen's stint is over - for now.































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