a children's centre for chorachori
Since our straw bale training in September, I've been working with another inspirational Phil on an incredibly worthwhile project. One of our course attendees, Philip Hunter, left this Wednesday 3rd February with companions Rory Buckworth and Sam Day to raise funds for the UK charity ChoraChori. This organisation is dedicated to rescuing vulnerable Nepali children who have found themselves compromised in India, returning them to their homeland - and their families, if at all possible - an education and a future. All proceeds will be used to build a centre in Hetauda for such children: the trio are raising them by Taking the High Road.
Starting in Shanghai, Phil, Rory and Sam will spend the next 4 months cycling the 7,000km through China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma and India to their destination, the ancient Nepalese city of Kathmandu. This is an incredibly demanding route involving 85km of vertical climb and, when they do arrive after those long months in the saddle, they will themselves work with local builders to construct ChoraChori's new centre.
In order to assist their efforts, and after exchanging hundreds of emails over many months as the brief was defined and site determined, I was finally able to deliver Phil a design for the children's centre. Located on a southern slope, the programme responds to the topography of the site by dividing into three volumes: uppermost a kitchen (isolated for its fire risk); middle classroom and office; lower dormitories and a common room for its residents. Earth, excavated from the site during construction, is to be the material that forms these buildings: earthbag walls, protected by wide eaves, chosen for its demonstrable resistance to seismic activity, sustainability and low cost. While the trio are cycling I'm preparing drawings for the planning and building control authorities in Nepal: hopefully I can meet them out there in June with a set of approved documents!
The devil is in the detail, and there's plenty of detailing to be done yet, but the obvious passion and dedication of Phil, Rory and Sam through all their training and preparation has been a continued source of inspiration: I await updates to their blog with bated breath!
(and with any luck, our build won't be quite as snowy as the below...)
In order to assist their efforts, and after exchanging hundreds of emails over many months as the brief was defined and site determined, I was finally able to deliver Phil a design for the children's centre. Located on a southern slope, the programme responds to the topography of the site by dividing into three volumes: uppermost a kitchen (isolated for its fire risk); middle classroom and office; lower dormitories and a common room for its residents. Earth, excavated from the site during construction, is to be the material that forms these buildings: earthbag walls, protected by wide eaves, chosen for its demonstrable resistance to seismic activity, sustainability and low cost. While the trio are cycling I'm preparing drawings for the planning and building control authorities in Nepal: hopefully I can meet them out there in June with a set of approved documents!
The devil is in the detail, and there's plenty of detailing to be done yet, but the obvious passion and dedication of Phil, Rory and Sam through all their training and preparation has been a continued source of inspiration: I await updates to their blog with bated breath!
(and with any luck, our build won't be quite as snowy as the below...)
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