Community Natural Building Programme

Rice harvesting in Panshet

Chapter 7
Mud and Lime plaster

Plasters and finishes protect the walls from the harsh elements, while also improving the aesthetic quality of a building.
The fine plaster is as essential for a wall as our skin is to our body.
After testing the different types of soil and making samples we decided upon the right mix of sand, clay, hay and lime.
It is extremely important to finely sieve the soil to achieve a good finish.

The base coat consists of clay, sand, hay/straw, cow-dung and lime in appropriate proportions.
Cow-dung was added to enhance the clay’s binding property and to strengthen the plaster with its fibres.In India, Cow-dung has been widely used as an insect repellent, for plastering walls in many mud homes in the villages till date.

As Panshet region receives very heavy rainfall during monsoons, along with high winds, we decided to apply different coats on the walls. It is very important for the external plater to be water resistant in such conditions.
After the base coat dried we applied the second coat of lime and cow-dung mix.

Lime allows the walls of the building to breathe at the same time makes them resistant to water.
People now have become more reluctant to using natural plasters and are shifting to cement and concrete plasters. This was a small attempt at reviving this practice to show how wonderfully these natural materials work.

We took the help of women from the nearby village, who are experts in doing 'thaapi' or plaster, in their own homes. They have been the historic preserves of this method, as it is passed down from mother to daughter as a life skill. We at CNBP try to learn, preserve, and propagate natural building methods like these, only by including the people who have been doing this for hundreds of years. Thank you to all the Kaku's (aunties) who guided us! in

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Chapter 6
Thatching our roof with grass.
The grass we used is called ‘Kolim’ which is used by the indigenous people living in the hills near Panshet. This grass has been grown since ancient times by a community called ‘Dhangars’. The grass is specially grown and maintained for use as a thatching material.
Unfortunately this practice is fading away due to the prevalence of metal sheets and concrete.
We first covered the roof with a tarp and then laid grass over it. The traditional way does not include the tarp layer the grass is directly stitched to the batten bellow. A considerably thick layer of grass is used in this case.
The grass is approximately 5 ft to 6ft tall and has to be wet (Soaked in water) before laying it for it to fit tightly. Due to the lockdown last year we could manage only a small quantity of grass hence we chose to put a tarp below.
The thatch performs much better than these modern materials in terms of heat insulation and waterproofing. It is also extremely cost efficient. Apart from initial annual rounds of thatching, it is relatively low maintenance.
This was our small attempt at reviving this practice whilst also providing income opportunities for the dhangars.
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