India getting professional plumbers!

A nice little article on the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), India, which is offering a 120 hours course to aspiring plumbers.  This is good news for quality construction, and a real need too as many constructions sites have very poor plumbing work, mainly in terms of aesthetics and poorly installed plumbing leading to breaks, rust and loss of heat in poorly insulated plumbing.

Solarator, 2kVA, Made in India

Sustainable and cheap electricity, the solarator is ideal for your country property or farm.  It generates electricity during the day time to run a pump or some electrical equipment such as drill or a saw.  It can also be used to recharge a UPS system.  It comes equipped with 4 or 8 batteries depending on requirements and therefore has enough back up to provide electricity during the night.

Manufactured in Bangalore by a JV between HHV Solar Technologies Pvt. Ltd and  Raj Hamsa Pvt Ltd a company better known for its 2 seater microlight aircraft.  The price of a Solarator is expected to be about 3.5 lakh as it is yet to be fully commercialised in India.  It was recently displayed at the London Solar energy exhibition and made quite an impression, with many specialist in the field saying this is by far the best product on the market.  Way to go India!  For more details on the product check out this article.

Hybrid Power Plants

Anyone who has visited Tamil Nadu in the past several months would have understood what kind of living hell it is to be without power.

Most of the places in Tamil Nadu, for the past several months, go without power for as long as ten hours each day.

The TN government is aggressively going in for more Thermal Plants and Nuclear Power Plants. Hardly the sustainable answer to our problems.

The sustainable answers such as Wind, Solar have limitations and we are constantly challenging ourselves to overcome these limitations.

The hybrid power plant is one more step towards this. Will this gain wide acceptance?

Using bamboo for carpentry work.

This is a great article I came across a couple of years back, but which I think is still very relevant for India.  Bamboo grows all over India, but is a difficult wood to work with as its shape and structure limits its usability.  Here is a machine invented by a Imli Toshi north eastern India that prepares Bamboo logs for carpentry work.  The machine removes the knots, does the planning and polishing of the surface of the Bamboo so as to prepare it for usage.  This is a great innovation for a country that has plenty of Bamboo but little timber resources.

Sustainable construction

Here is an article on sustainable construction and how to ensure longevity in our buildings.  The articles highlights the need to choose good materials when contructing the building, but more importantly, proper maintenance of the building is ensured.  This is one area where a lot of improvement can be made in India, as most buildings are left with little or no care pas the first few years.  The article points out that diligent maintenance can double the life time of a building. 

Lets lay some roads!

The invention has taken place...

The innovation has been explored and is ready to be executed...

What’s next?

The Hindu : NATIONAL / TAMIL NADU : Plastic collection on Wednesdays

The ingenious, resourceful contrivance of using plastics in the laying of roads is now facing a peculiar and unexpected snag. Believe it or not… The process has come to a screeching halt due to the lack of (usable) shredded plastic!

The answer to this rather unbelievable problem lies in the hands of the everyday consumer. The corporation of Chennai has now decided to go door-to-door collecting daily usage plastics specially, thin carry bags. They have declared every Wednesday as plastic collection day. The local conservancy staff will travel in tricycles around the city collecting plastics from houses and small businesses.

They have further initiated various educational institutions to be a part of this drive. The students are encouraged to carry waste plastics from their homes and neighborhoods to school on Wednesdays, which will then be collected by the conservancy staff of that area.

This initiative in the process of enabling a crucial innovative will also help promotes healthier household habits.

Lets remember… Wednesdays are plastic collection days!

Paving plastone blocks, a great alternative to Cement!

Here is another great invention from scientists in Madurai!  Traditional cement blocks of red and grey colour have been used to pave parking areas, and recently entire street in Puducherry, but more commonly for private roads and walkways.  Cement is a carbon intensive product, requiring large quantities of heat in its production.  Researchers from Thiagaraj College of Engineering in Madurai have devised a new block called the Plastone which combines recycled plastics and stone to make a block that is much stronger than its cement equivalent but also non-porous, thus doing away with the ills that affects traditional cement blocks.  Cement blocks tend to give way when heavy loads such as trucks roll over them, as well as water seepage during monsoon seasons which undermines the traditional sand foundation of the blocks, leading to potholes.

What's more, the plastone uses up to 30% waste plastics in its fabrication, mainly plastic bags and PET bottles.  According to the scientists, it may even be possible to make plastones using recycled e-waste, mainly the plastic boards on which the electronic circuitry is embedded.  This could a real bonanza, as e-waste is a major plight of modern society.  Three cheers for this ingenious indigenous sustainable product and its creators! (Original article: The Hindu)

PLastones use 30% plastic waste and stone, they can even be made with recycled e-waste!

Lowering the carbon foot-print of Cement!

Here is another interesting development from cement manufacturers in Karnataka.  Traditional cement manufacturing involves the process of converting limestone into clinker in a blast furnace.  Clinker makes up 95% of cement.  The article quotes that "in order to produce 1 tonne of clinker  1.5 tonnes of  limestones is needed and in the process 0.5 tonnes of CO2 is released [in the atmosphere]".

Green cement replaces 50% of clinker with slag, a waste product from steel blast furnace.  Apart from reducing CO2 emissions by half, green cement also has the advantage of being much more resistnt than traditional cement, especially along coastal environments!  It is also cleaner for the environment in that the slag production from steel plants can be recycled as well as limestone resources preserved.

Sustainable roofing.

I remember my early youth living in a thatched roof house in Auroville.  The rain and wind always felt so much more closer and inspiring.  Thatched huts on the beach are another memorable image in my memory.  Somehow, the feeling of relaxation and soothing effect of the surf on the sand and the sea breeze whistling through the hut is so much more holistic an experience than a concrete house on the beach which has a greater effect of sealing you indoors than the thatched walls and roof of a hut.

This article is a nice remainder that even in a city you can have your thatched roof on your terrace giving you opportunities to sleep outdoors in the hot season.  A very sustainable alternative to tile roofs, especially when you consider the very people who are engaged in the making it possible, the rural employment in cutting, drying and weaving coconut palm leaves, as well as the artisans that construct the roof, all a know-how that would be sad to loose if we fail to promote this industry.

I certainly will opt for a thatch roof when I start building my house!  But even if you live in a flat, why not convince your community to get one on top of the block?