Tamil Nadu’s Jawahar C wanted to build an eco-friendly home. But when it came to its execution, he could only think of his nephew Aravind Manoharan to turn it into something tangible.
A civil engineer, Aravind runs a sustainable construction company ‘Pizhai Azhagu’, which translates to ‘beauty of mistakes’.
Before constructing the home, spread across an area of 3,200 sq ft, the duo interviewed local masons to get their input on traditional construction techniques.
The findings were quite unusual. “They had traditional courtyard-style homes built using mud. They also informed us that jaggery and egg whites served as great construction materials,” says Aravind.
“Jaggery acts as a great bonding agent while the use of egg whites in the plaster gives the walls a polished look,” he explains.
In 2019, the duo started making the walls using conventional bricks, but in place of cement, they made a mixture of lime mortar, sand, jaggery, crushed kadukkai (yellow myrobalan) and water.
The plastering on the bricks was done in five layers and this helped ensure the breathability of the building with more oxygen inside.
The first base of plastering was done using a mixture of lime, sand, and water. The second and third layer was plastered using a mix of water, lime, and crushed kadukkai.
The fourth layer comprised lime, water and talcum powder while the fifth and final layer was a mix of lime and water, again with egg whites.
The roofs of the house use recycled wood. To ensure that the wood is safe from termite attack, plantain leaves or lotus leaves are placed between the wood and the bricks.
“I want to continue the same process of understanding region-specific architecture and documenting how to construct them. I hope to create more eco-friendly buildings in the future so that people have an environmentally friendly choice,” says Aravind.