Hands on Natural Building Workshop at SECMOL,Ladakh

DAY 2

I woke up early morning before everybody. And it was dark outside when I looked outside my window. My roommates were fast asleep.

Then I decided to take a little stroll in the campus. And I headed out. It was cold. I realized I had to cover myself up properly. As I looked at the sky and the mountains, I thought to myself -" I did not want to go back to the city". I wondered how lucky these people are. They get to look at this scenic landscape every day. Then I headed to the gate towards the reception and then the playground looking for some network on my phone. The signal reception was almost nil. After some time, I managed to speak to my mother to let her know everything is okay. By this time, it was dawn and I got to witness the beautiful sunrise too.

Then there was a task of exploring the Dry compost toilets. This was going to be a real adventure for the first time. I was quite hesitant but decided to just try it. 

There were clear instructions on our tour the previous day on how to keep the toilets dry and clean.So the dry compost  toilet was a room with  two holes - one covered ,the other one with a seated pot (WC) and there was a chamber pit underneath where all the human manure was collected. There was also a wooden crate box just next to it with cover material- (sawdust/wood shavings/sand) along with a shovel present so Every time you use the toilet, you make sure you put the cover material. It was a task at first. Very different from what I had ever seen or experienced. I felt relieved once I used the toilet though. And I realized it was not that hard. Only there was composting taking place right there and  I could see it through the hole.That was an issue. But I did it. I used the toilet. And I was proud of myself.

Everybody took their own time to wake up. So I headed for some tea and breakfast. I met Vishal and we had a small chat. Also utilized this time to get to know Kim, my roommate. She was from Australia. And she had been to other short courses and done previous workshops on Natural buildings.

So we had some breakfast – Barley roti and Beans vegetable (subji). Food was just like home. The roti was dry though. But tasty. And tea was the best! I had an extra cup of tea.

We had a small briefing of what we would do that day. Also, as we were all new to each other - we played a little game organised by Dipika and Yash. To lighten up the mood and get to know everyone well. We were divided into teams asked to introduce ourselves again. Then it was memory time! This was a lot of fun. Great way to start the day. 

At breakfast we also interacted with some students. They were so curious to know what we do ,where we are from. We spoke to them about which village they come from. And how they find it at SECMOL. 

We were a group of enthusiastic people and wanted to start off right away.As everyone assembled outdoors we were ready to get started with HANDS ON Construction.

Construction Technique:  WATTLE AND DAUB

What is Wattle and Daub?

It is an ancient natural construction technique in which ‘Wattle’ is a framed structure comprising of woven wooden strips or branches like a lace/lattice. ‘Daub’ refers to the material wattle is covered with comprising of – earthen mix, clay, soil or straw. Daub is used to fill the spaces between the wattle and plaster the wall.

 HOW TO BUILD A  'Wattle and Daub' WALL 

Step 1:  We decided to make a screen or partition wall for newly built compost toilets using this technique.

Day 2: Briefing about the technique.

Step 2:  We started off with foundation. The foundation pit was already dug. We filled in soling. We had to ram the rubble soling first so that there are no air gaps in the material.

              

       

         Day 2: Fill the Soling in the
 Foundation

Day 2: Fill the Soling in the Foundation

Day 2: Ramming the Rubble Soling.

         

Step 3: We headed to gather material. We had to collect Willow tree branches or twigs for weaving it into a screen wall or partition. (Cut the branches with a saw, Carry them to the site.)

Day 2 : Choose the right branches And Cut them.

Day 2: Collect and carry it to the Site.

Step 4: We posted the vertical branches for the structure. These were thicker sticks used as the supports. They were and not very flexible as they would be the structural support for the wall.  

Day 2: Vertical posts for the support

Day 2: Happy -faces in a frame

We then broke off for lunch. And returned with the same enthusiasm. I must say the sun was harsh.And we needed the water bottle and  the caps. And we continued....

Day 2: Adding more support
to the frame

                                

                                  Day 2: Cut the branches
                                     to the required length.  

             

Step 5: Then weaving – the horizontal members - We used thinner branches to weave into the vertical posts. These need to be more flexible not completely dry otherwise they break.

     

Day 2 : Almost Complete !

This took quite some time.

Step 6: In the end – It looked beautiful. Like weaving a cloth/mat. Partition was ready.

Day 2 : Complete & Beautiful.

Step 7: Clean the site. Clean all the tools equipment and put it back to place for the next day.

We were all really happy for having completed Part 1. And we went to have some tea again.

We met later on to discuss responsibilities. 

What is Responsibility? 

Its a part of SECMOL Philosophy which is they learn by practically doing things. They learn  applying the concepts not by mere reading and theory.

For volunteers it is any task to be done along with the students. Usually 30-45 mins. In the Afternoon. 

Why ? 

1. To encourage them and interact with them. 
2. To build their confidence.
3. To establish that all chores and duties are equal and respected as much.
4. It could be any of these things listed below :

• Gardening 
• Toilet & bathroom
• Dairy
• Forestry
• Girls hostel 
• Boys hostel
• Dining hall
• Kitchen

And after this we had free time to freshen up.

We then headed to the common bathrooms. The bathroom was right in center of the campus.It was divided into 4 cubicles for Girls to the left and 4 shower cubicles for the Boys.

Day 2 : Common Bathrooms.

• We had to fetch a bucket. Moreover find an empty bucket. 
• Fill up hot water from the solar heater placed outside. 
• Take one bucket with water filled.
• Then place another empty bucket.
• Then pour water from the mug into a funnel that goes into the solar heater and viola! 
• Hot water pours down from the other pipe where an empty bucket is placed. 
• If you were okay with ice-cold water. You were more than welcome to try it. 
• Carry this bucket to your shower cubicle. 
• There was also common area for washing clothes inside the bathrooms.
• And sinks outside for filling up water bottles/washing etc.

I had never taken so much effort before to get a hot bucket of water. It made me realize how in cities we just have a geyser. All you do it switch on a button.But then we consume so much electricity.  Positive learning here : It does take effort but also saves so much electricity! And use something which is available abundantly , free of cost -Solar energy.

After we got all ready we took a small walk around the campus and spoke to students and other members of our group. We had people from all parts of India and Outside - Bangalore,Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune ,Australia and Bangladesh. It was a good mix.

Then we went to have dinner.At dinner, there was a presentation by students on some topic. Followed by question & answer .There was news discussions and introspection. In introspection the students actually have to assess how their day went and plan for the next day which i think was wonderful as a practice.

Surprisingly, we were handed out some leaflets with lyrics of a traditional Ladakhi song. And asked to sing along too. It was amazing that always these students and SECMOL Family wants to involve you in as many things as possible. The song praised the warriors of the land and spoke about a prince who will rule the world. It was also about wishing the kings and lords gathered to be victorious. And talking about an auspicious time.

I found the pronunciations very difficult to follow at first. But the tune was very nice.It sounded like a folk-ish ballad. We tried our best to sing along. I had never heard a song like this before. So it was new and interesting at the same time.

After all the activities were done.  I hit the sack.