After the ladder house and the shipping containers, the SacredGroves community felt the need for a space that volunteers and interns can use to do table-top activities and work with power tools. Thus came about an initiative for a workshop. A sketched out plan was made, consisting of a simple rectangular layout of 8 columns in a grid of 4m x 3.5m.… READ MORE...
A Water Channel… Some Rubble… A Foundation!
Rainwater washes underground and tends to seep upwards through the foundation and into the house.
What if the foundation itself were water permeable? A rubble trench foundation is a trench filled and compacted with dry rubble, with a water channel at the bottom.… READ MORE...
The Noah Solution
SacredGroves, being built on the principle of togetherness, encourages all volunteers and workers to eat together in the Sacred Circle. This demands the food to be brought to the site for breakfast and lunch. Carrying two large tiffin carriers and a tea dispenser on a TVS moped is no joke.… READ MORE...
More Than Just A New Kitchen!
Recently the kitchen was shifted from the ladder house to the common house with the help of a few volunteers and interns at SacredGroves. It was bit of a task shifting every utensil and cabinet to the new space, but worth all the effort.… READ MORE...
Foundations laid for the first 3 houses!
The foundations for the first 3 houses and their water tanks were completed last week.
A mix of cement, earth and rubble in the ratio 1:9:18 is rammed into the foundation trenches. For the houses, a layer of bigger rocks is laid on top of this mix and a slurry of cement and earth is poured to fill in the gaps.
The wait is over – at long last the compressor has arrived
The day everyone was eagerly looking forward to finally arrived! The compressor was brought in last week and the shotcrete work began in full swing.The workers and volunteers sweated out their days to complete the shotcreting of the first water tank near the office container.… READ MORE...
Successful erection!
Like a phoenix from the ashes, our wind turbine has been resurrected after the false start on Dec 5th (see earlier post re Breaking News). Our lofty ambitions (including the height of the turbine) have been clipped somewhat (by 5 metres) but the power generated will be very useful on cloudy days when the solar panels are ineffective.… READ MORE...
Base Camp – final resting place for the containers
Last week saw frenetic activity at Sacred Groves with the wind turbine tower being test erected and the containers being manoeuvred to their final resting place at Base Camp. Here are some photos of the latter. Click on a pic to see it large with captions.… READ MORE...
The Tetrapak furniture project 01
Tetrapak cartons are used all over the world and increasingly so in India where the burgeoning middle class consumes ever more and ever more un-sustainably. The problem is that this complex material can’t be recycled and, therefore, ends up in landfill.… READ MORE...
To pee or not to pee, one hell of a question
To pee, or not to pee, that is the question:
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The sting of an overinflated bladder,
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The sting of an overinflated bladder,
Or to relieve the pressure of the golden fluid.
In such dilemma a solution is to be sought
A composting latrine comes as a thought
But alas, in haste the latrine is constructed
And the result, far less than instructed
To put bluntly: it is a real piece of crap
And no one to cheer it with a hand clap
Only little puppies find it a place of solace
Ah!