Sophie Edwards

Hello Friends,

When I was in India last January and February, I started looking into a sustainable housing project after noticing that most of the modern houses being built are made from concrete and steel and are hot in summer and cold in winter. On the other hand, many of the traditional houses use local materials and have great passive solar properties. Unfortunately a lot of people find the old style of houses undesirable as they require regular maintenance and are not considered modern and progressive in the way concrete houses are. There is a need to research an alternative design that brings in some modern elements that are more desirable but also drawing on traditional elements that are less carbon intensive and are more thermally appropriate for the local area.  

Interestingly, this idea came up when we were leaving Pitchandikulum, the first place the CERES global group visits in India on its annual trips. We were driving to the airport for our next leg of the journey in Maharashtra, when Joss, our friend from Pitchandikulum brought up the housing issue. This was about the same time that the bus had a brake failure and we had to hail down a bunch of auto rickshaws (local Indian 3 wheeler transport) to continue our journey to the airport. Needless to say, the conversation planted a seed, and one that took shape when we arrived at our next destination – Pal Village - in Maharashtra.

In Maharashtra we work with a lot of schools in very remote tribal villages. At these schools it is very difficult to attract good teachers being so remote. We also noticed that the teacher’s accommodation was very basic – often a very simple shelters woven out of sticks. I found this interesting as previous work I have done with other NGOs has proven that if you improve housing and facilities for teachers in remote areas – it is easier to attract better teachers to those areas and therefore offer those children a much greater opportunity for education. From here our sustainable housing project took shape. With the local people and our partner organisations in India, we have begun to develop model prototype sustainable house for teacher’s accommodation in remote villages in Maharashtra.

At the moment we are trying to raise $1500 to build our first house and I am asking for your help – whether it is $5 or $1000, it doesn’t matter. By donating to this cause you will directly contribute to the development and implementation of the house in the village of Jamnya, Maharashtra. You will be contributing to much needed research in regards to alternative, affordable and sustainable houses in India, helping to pave the way to reduce the current carbon intensity of houses and enhancing the educational capacity of children in remote areas.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and consider making a donation.

Warm regards

Sophie