Bamboo Architecture

Sandeep Virmani and Vivek Rawal

Thi s is the story of two settlements - Orlaha (Triben iganj demonstrate and pilot the rehabilitation policy for the government

block) and Puraini (Birpur block) of Supau l district, Bihar. In of Bihar which has subsequently launched a rehabilitation

these vill age hamlets . people reconstructed 45 and 89 programme to rebu ild 100.000 houses in Saharsa. Supaul and

houses respectively. after the 2008 Kosi floods. They worked eVith Madhepura districts of Kosi region.

Owner Driven Reconstruction (ODR) Collaborative - a (o lleni' e Kosi flows through the flat plains of north Bihar dividing itself

of professional development organisations - to deve lop in smal l streams. nourishing the soil and commu nities before

m March 2012ARCHITECTURE ... OE5IGtl

converging again in its mighty form . Also, the river path has been

shifting westwards, and total shift has been more than 1 OOkms in

the last 250 years. But when Kusaha dam was breached in

September 2008, the fury of waters drowned and destroyed many

villages. The people of north Bihar are aware of floods, but with

th is breach, Kosi river had decided 0 return eastwards to its 200-

year-old path. And this revisit was devastating with a damage to

1,50,000 houses. It was unprecedented. But it was also followed

with unparalleled efforts of reconstruction to ensure dignity of

human life. Rich fel-ti 'le lands of north Bihar known allover the

country for its labour (skilled and unskilled) had enough building

materials. skills, crafts , knowledge and wisdom to provide a strong

foundation for a more resilient future. It is with this perspective to

build upon local traditions, ODR Collaborative started its work

with communities in Orlaha and Puraini.

Goddess Ganga, Sea and the Bamboo: As the enraged Kosi

floods overtopped its banks, destroyed and carried everything in its

path dovvn to the Ganges and into the sea, the sea is pleased. He

asks, "You bring me rich gifts from your land, but why don't you

ever bring me the bamboo?" Ganga replies, "All those who rigidly

try to obstruct my angry waters must be destroyed. Only the

bamboo bends low and touches my feet, quelling my anger. So I

spare him. " This story was told to us by a Dabia mistri, a bamboo

building artisan, as we surveyed the ravaged landscape (with only

the bamboo groves still standing) after the Kosi floods made millions

of people homeless. The government of Bihar had invited us to

propose a housing solution for the region of Mithalanchal,

mythologically famous as the land of Janak, 5ita 's father. The Kosi ,

a large tributary of the Ganges that begins in far away Tibet, has

always flooded , and therefore made the northern region of Bihar

between the Ganges and the Himalayas, rich and fertile.

Here, to talk of sustainability is almost ephemeral; and yet the choose the options that could be completely un-sustainable. It is

people of this region have built one of the most enduring not easy when sustainability is not a matter of empowered

lifestyles on the se fertile planes. And central to their life is the deCision-making, but a result of situational constraints. Aspiration

bamboo- they say. ' from birth to death' every step in their lives, of imitating glittery lifestyle of cities influences the decision-

is supported by the bam boo. The usually held notion of trying to making. Constrained communities which when given a choice can

build such that nature cannot degrade the materials easily. does also make un-sustainable choices. Sustainability is viable only

not exist here. However, they build such that the degrading when it is not a result of lack of options or external imposi tions.

material is changed without bringing down the structure. ODRC felt it was important to empower communities to make

Sustainability was not something that people in north Bihar deci sions, help them evolve their own contextual solutions and

needed to learn. In fact. that was something they could teach , to enable them to improve their housing conditions with something

anyone who listened . But at the same time, they could very li ke ly that is more durable and requires less maintenance. Local

materials like bamboo could be used to deli ver such opt ions.

Sustainability goes beyo nd carbon footprints and this story of

PLAN OF A TYPICAL HOUSE

m March 201 2ARCHlfECTURE+ DESIGN

Orlaha and Puraini explored its myr iad other dimensions.

Prefabricated Bamboo Frame Structure: Many families grow

their own bamboo groves, particularl y of Harot (Bambusa Balcoa)

that is structurally strong and forms the main frame of the house,

and Chab (8ambusa Tulda) for the long straight rafters of the roof

and Makhaur (8ambusa Nutans) for making the bamboo mesh to

make the walls between the frame . They always have extra to sell

to those who do not have land to grow them . All the components

of the house are prefabricated by the Dabia karigar (sk illed

labourer), the frame erected and then filled in with wattle and

daub. We learnt this from Dabia Tribhuvandas who worked with

the design team to develop the first prototypes for the

rehabilitation programme to consider. While the concept was

good, incremental improvements could be made to safeguard

agaillSt multi-hazard conditions of floods, storms and earthquakes

and ensure a low maintenance home for the 40-50 years of the life

of the bamboo. Sustainability must ensure that people can

upgrade, change and add to their home easily.

EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT TIES

FLOOD-RESISTANT MECHANISM

Bamboo has tensile properties that are better than steel, building

a well connected frame (with braces and the first floor as

diaphragm) will take the lateral thrusts of the earthquakes easily;

the connectivity of the plinth to the wall through the roof will stop

the storms from uprooting the house, For the floods, the answers

came from Madhubani; the region faces more floods than Kosi. The

people build their plinths higher than the average annual flood level

and in extreme situations, simply climb into an attic space seven to

eight feet above and wait for the flood waters to recede. So the

proposed house would have a first storey to use and save their

belongings and themselves from the floods . The wattle and daub

between the frames give way to the pressure of the flood waters

protecting the main frame and the roof from collapsing. Instead of

building a rigid structure to beat the forces of the floods, traditional

engineering builds to absorb/release the forces of nature.

m March 201 2ARCHITECTURE+ DESIGN

CYCLONE-RESISTANT FEATURES

Crafting the Home with Dabia: The bamboo artisan of

Mithal.anchal builds the entire home only using one tool, a knife

called Dabia. Understanding this traditional skill and designing

solutions that could be built only with the Dabia, challenged our

design acumen. The government of Bihar had an ambitious plan

to rebuild a hundred thousand (one lakh) homes . Therefore, the

programme was to design such that the rich traditions and skills of

bamboo building are brought in. Providing recognition , ownership

and pl'ide in the community knowledge can go a long way in

continuing this sustainable practice. A mass housing programme

would easily lose quality and speed if mistris had to be taught how

to use new tools. Local technologies are usually best adapted for

the local ecological setting. Therefore, the new design would need

to incorporate construction details that achieve our objectives

without using any other tool. Most bamboo housing solutions have

thus far suggested bolting joints together; this would not only

require new materials (bolts, washers, plates, etc) and fabrication

to be made available but drilling and screwing tools as well.

Therefore, the different types of joints in the house were secured

with three types of lashings (tying with rope) with a bamboo pin

to provide rigidity wherever necessary.

A Creative Use of Pesticide Pumps: It was learnt from Dabia

artisans that to ensure durability of bamboo, it was important to

use appropriate variety of bamboo for specific purpose. Harot as

columns, Chab for rafters and purlins and Makhaurfor lattice work

in wattle and daub. Mature bamboo, of at least three years, was to

be used. While the bamboo is strong, it is the starch in its cells that

attracts the insects and fungi. There are techniques that can remove

the starch from the bamboo walls, and typical recommendation is

the use of a centralised treatment system. This was a luxury the

people of north Bihar could not afford as the transport of bamboo

to the treatment unit and back to the village will require

intermediaries and the cost of bamboo would double. Learning

from the boucherie method from ABARI, Nepal . the equipment

was redesigned to suit the bamboo variety in Bihar, optimising the

overall costs and overcoming the leakage of chemicals . Thi s method

involved pumping of recommended preservative solution of borax,

boric acid and copper sulphate at a pressure of 0.1 to 0, 14N/mm2

through the cut end of the bamboo till it seeped out from the other

end replacing the sap, Bamboo with a minimum size of 70- 1 OOmm

in diameter at thin end and wall thickness of bamboo not less t han

10- 12mm were used. Mounted on a bicycle, this improved

n

TYPES OF BAMBOO LASHINGS

pesticide pumping equipment was provided to entrepreneurs who

could provide services to various households, They could charge a

family the labour cost of five to seven rupees per bamboo, wh ile

the chemical mix was sold in sach ets ready for dilution in the

pesticide pump. This way, the owner of the house could cut and

treat the bamboo in their own bamboo grove itself, simplifying the

process drastically.

Pile Foundations without Electric Power: This region is

familiar with earthquakes; in the 1935 earthquake, a large number

of houses simply tilted or 'sank' into the so il due to ' liquefaction' . a

result of sandy (unconsolidated) soil conditions with a high water­

table. The water-table can further rise wi th the vibrations of the

earthquake engulfing the foundations of buildings. The soil looses

their strength resulting in a watery grave for the building.

Flood plains like the Kosi region have many vi llages with such

soi l conditions and require pile foundations to hold the buildings.

In Puraini, which was surrounded by the Kosi tributaries, pile

foundations were necessary. However, casting RCC piles was a

challenge with high ground water-table at only 4ft depth . When

faced with this challenge, they resorted to a 'jugaad' by lowering

a bottomless drum to dig the pit and hold the soil and water on

sides. Once they reached the required depth of 10ft in this

manner, they lowered a pre-cast RCC pile in place, removed the

drum used as shuttering to hold soil and compacted the sand by

ramming. They also developed a system for making holes for the

piles by use of hand auger normally used for installin g hand

HI March 2012ARCHITECTURE+ DESIGN

pumps and then pushing the prefabricated pile into this hole with

its own self weight. All this is achieved by three people in less

than one hour per pile, When the initial hole is made, the water

pl' 5su re in the hole (high water-table) is neutralised by creating

a suct ion created with a cupped hand over the auger pipe as it is

pushed into the ground. Eighty nine houses in Puraini constructed

thei r foundations in this manner.

All Together or no One: The spirit of collective efforts in Orlaha

and Puraini strengthened the reconstruction process, Not everyone

had equal capabilities and some people had been impacted more

in the fl oods. People of Orlaha and Puraini ensured that no one was

left behind. As much as 17 families who had lost their land due to

excessive scouring or erosion of land in floods were supported with

additional sum of 5000 rupees to buy alternative land or reclaim the

existing homestead plot. People of Orlaha and Puraini got together

to identify and ensure that all families could gain access to the

requi red land. While seven families reclaimed, 10 families bought

another piece of land to rebuild their homes.

Social mobili ' dt ion of community to undertake reconstruction in

a campaign mode provided catalytic energies to the process of

reconstruction. A social facilitation hub at village level called Kosi

Tie with rope

oi--- Bamboo Column -

BAMBOO JOINERY DETAILS

Setu Kendra (later concei ved at a level of cluster of two to three

panchayats in larger GoB programme of Kosi flood reconstruction)

mobilised families, identified issues and worked to evolve solutions

through community consultations and local wisdom as much as

possible, KSK team regularly discussed progress, sensitised everyone

to needs of families with single women or old aged people and

ensured community support. It helped in liaison with banks and

ensured timely access to financial assistance . It also played effective

role in training people for bamboo treatment and in ensuring

compliance to technical guidelines brought ou t by the technical

committee of the government of Bihar. KSK team was supported by

a resource team from Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan, Hunnarshala and

People in Centre (ODR Collaborative member organisations) .

People Decide, Artisans Build and Craft: Dabia artisans

strengthened with solution to provide more durability added

improved bamboo house to the options available to home owners.

The artisans and masons. the source of knowledge and guidance to

people. earned place of pride in the community through building

so lutions that provided shape to aspirations and improved quality

of life. Strengthened by ODRC team on technical guidelines. artisans

collaborated w ith home owners to help them decide on appropriate

type of construction. Empowered with freedom to choose and

equipped with knowledge. families of Orlaha and Puraini opted for

houses based on their preferences. family needs and capabilities of

financial contribution. Of the total 134 families. 88 families chose

to build houses with brick walls and bamboo attic and bamboo­

based roofs. 44 families built completely with bamboo (walls. attic

and roofs made of bamboo) and remaining two chose to build in

brick with RCC roofs. People of Orlaha and Puraini in the process of

building their homes celebrated use of bamboo through the craft of

the Dabia artisans. During his visit to Kosi region to see bamboo

houses before upgrading it through rehabilitation policy. the chief

minister of Bihar. had a discussion with the Dabia artisans. And

today. in the larger programme of Kosi. reconstruction to build

100.000 houses. more than 300 artisans are taking responsibility

to guide home owners to decide appropriate house type and

oversee the construction to ensu re qual ity.

Decentralised Services- Sanitation, Solar Lighting and

Drinking Water: Appropriate sanitation was a critical need for the

environmental improvement. Use of toilets offered more dignity.

particularly to teenaged girls. physically disabled persons. old aged

or persons with illnesses. Contamination of ground,vater in typical

twin pit toilets particularly due to high ground water-table was an

issue. With the help from Biome. Bangalore. a solution in the form

of eco-san toilets was developed using a special toilet pan that

separated so lid waste from urine. Very soon. the community

christened it' Faydemand Shauchalaya' (beneficial toilets) realising

III l\!Iarch 2012ARCHITECTURE+OESIGN

its usable output in form of organic fertilizer. After v isiting a

demonstration toilet and learning its usage. people quickly made

their own dry pit toilets with the help of trained local masons w ith

many growing fruit trees and plants near their toilets. While there

are hardly any example of successfu l eco-san toilet programme at

the settlement level. Orlaha and Puraini w ith its nearly 50 per cent

of toilets in active use demonstrated its potential and acceptability

in north Bihar. With more rigorous socia l efforts. there is little doubt

in the success of eco-san toilets.

Availability of electric power particularly lighting could bring

about a sign ificant change. Children could study in the evening.

Mobile phones cou ld be charged at home itself (without payment).

One could be safe w hile stepping out of homes in the evening. One

could see we ll w hile cooking the evening meal. North Bihar villages

have little access to the power grid and solar lighting was a more

sustainab le alternat ive . On completion of the house. each family

chose to install so lar lights. Solar lighting was beneficial and as

families are able to invest more in future, the upgradation cou ld be

made to add more electric points. additional panels and bigger

batteries. Solar street lighting was also installed through community

funding making access easy and safe during the evenings and nights.

Policy recommendation has been made to improve the quality of

products through the quality assurance mark and encouraging the

service supply chain for the users.

Biological contamination due to stagnant water. lack of waste

disposa l system and use of shallow hand pumps (locally known as

chapakal) for drinking water made the water unsafe. Crushed guava

leaves when put in drinking water from hand pumps gave purple

hues indicating excessive iron content. This was a test learned from

Megh Pyne Abhiyan (a local NGO network working on water safety).

Also . less dissolved oxygen was an issue with drinking water. Open

wells worked better as the process of oxidation improved. dissolving

oxygen and precipitating iron content and improving quality of

\·vater for drinking purpose. Community \vi sdom had imbibed this

solution in its tradition but now seemed forgotten or neglected due

to wrong policies of hand pump promotion. Hand pumps (chapaka0

could be used for other needs. After discussion with the community.

a well was planned in Orlaha on the southern end considering

natural recharge and discharge points. Geo-hydrological appraisal

with the help from Megh Pyne Abhiyan and ACWADAM, Pune

indicated recharge and discharge points for ground water flow in

both the villages.

larger Picture - Towards a Region Plan: Not only a good

house, improving quality of life also needs better regional

infrastructure. En suring safety of settlem ents and improving

infrastructure in the region is opportunity at the time of

reconstruction. The need is to ensure that these development

objectives are aligned in a harmonious way with nature. While

expanding settlements become better connected with roads and

other infrastructure, the Kosi continue to flow unobstructed

reducing disaster risks. Putting in place the system to bring

together people's own wisdom with analytical skills of planning

professionals through participatory planning processes can lead to

a regional plan and strengthen loca l institutions such as

Panchayats. Though demonstrated at the settlement level in Orlaha

m March 201 2ARCHITECTURE+ DESIGN

House construction in Orlaha and Puraini

Total houses: 134 (45+89)

Total cost of house reconstruction: Rs 95, 57 , 750/­

(Project assistance: Rs 71, 50, 000; People's

contribution: Rs 24, OS, 000 )

Average house size: 300sq ft

Average construction cost: Rs 23 7 per sq ft

Total toilets: 107

Total cost of toilets: Rs 8,56,000

Cost of Solar lights: Rs 8, 84, 000 (Project assistance

Rs 8, 45,000; People's Contribution Rs 39,000)

Hamlet level infrastructure (Street solar lights, Access

Roads and Drinking water well)

Cost: Rs 32.78, 480 (Project assistance Rs 32, 50.

000; People's Contribution Rs 28.480)

and Puarini and included in the policy for reconstruction, planning

at district and regional level st ill remains to be taken up. If regional

development effort is not coordinated with the settlement

planning processes, the fear is that it might just increase the risks

of the disaster.

The Way Forward - Kosi Reconstruction Programme: Today,

Kosi has started flowing back in its normal course. People of Orlaha

and Puraini have gained confidence that they would be more

resi ·lient in their new houses. Local efforts, materials, skills and

local wisdom formed the basis of reconstruction. ODR

Col laborative acted as a catalyst and people of Orlaha and Puraini

not only rebuilt their entire settlement but demonstrated a way

for the entire Kosi reconstruction programme. Policy for Kosi

reconstruction programme draws upon their experience to learn

about the financial assistance in instalments, social mobilisation

and facilitation by Kosi Setu Kendra , use of bamboo as per

technical guidelines, construction of houses by homeowners

through local Dabia artisans and masons, supervision by master

artisans, building of eco-san toilets and installation of solar lights.

Based on this policy, a programme to reconstruct 100,000 houses

is presently underway. With Orlaha and Puraini showing the way

and government of Bihar providing policy support. bamboo has

emerged as a viable and sustainable option offering an

improvement in the quality of life for large number of families in

Kosi region. Thanks to the local Dabia artisan's skills, wisdom,

willingness to learn , adapt and deliver, people of Kosi region can

continue to build better in a sustainable way. dJo

Sandeep Virmani and Vivek Rawal represent Hunnarshala

Foundation and People in Centre ConSUlting respectively in OOR

Collaborative.