No Electricity Bills, No ACs: This Couple Lives In Bengaluru In A House Made Of Mud

Can you imagine living in an eco-house made entirely of mud and recycled wood? This Bengaluru couple makes it look quite easy and refreshing. Vani Kannan and her husband Balaji moved to India in 2018 after living in England for the past 28 years. And, that's when they decided to build an eco-friendly sustainable house.

The wake-up call

The wake-up call was when they were expecting their first child in 2009 and began taking into account the number of nappies, plastic bottles, baby feed bottles. Vani says they realised it would be against mother nature. So, they looked for alternative reusable options and succeeded.

Without realising, the spark for sustainability had taken root in them. When they were blessed with a baby girl in 2010, they wanted to do more and decided to move back to their home country -- India.

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The idea

In 2020, when they began to house hunting in Bengaluru, the skyrocketing prices of apartments shocked them. ¡°This is when we came across a Bengaluru firm Mahijaa that has been building sustainable homes for over a decade and reached out to them for our home too,¡± says Vani.

The couple says they found the ideal start ¡ª a 2,400 sq ft property and an architect who was willing to sync sustainability with their idea of a dream home.

¡°The idea was to make the home as ¡®less traditional looking¡¯ as possible,¡± says Anirudh Jagannathan, an architect who has been associated with Mahijaa for three years now.

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A walk through the house

Bricks

The bricks for the home were made by mixing six elements ¡ª 7 per cent cement, soil, red mud, steel blast, limestone and water. While the walls were made of these, the roofing was done by using mud blocks, thus eliminating the use of cement.

Steel rods

¡°There are steel rods that run through and concrete is poured to create a slab. Instead of this conventional approach, we create the base with scrap keyboards, coconut shells, etc. and fill the area with mud to create a filler slab.¡±

Garden

There's also a 1000 ft garden that has methi, curry leaves, coriander, etc, which the couple uses in their food.

However, as Vani explains, this is just a mini version of their organic farm ¡ª a 2-acre plot of land that they started a couple of years ago. Everything that goes into their food, comes from fresh farm produce.

garden

Wood

The wood that has been used for decor and other purposes is brought from a man who would visit demolished sites and procure wood. Then, he would then repurpose it and sell it. With the wood that was leftover during the construction process, they had it turned into bookshelves.

Cooling

Vani says they never needed artificial cooling. ¡°Our architect has designed the home in a way that we only switch on the lights after 6.30 pm while the sunroofs work their magic the rest of the time.¡± She adds that the angles at which the home is constructed, ensure that it maximises light reflection and natural cooling.

Solar energy

For when the family does need electronics, it is powered by solar energy. Through the on-grid system, additional electricity produced is sent back to the grid for Rs 3 per unit, says Vani. Thanks to the 11 solar panels of 4.8 KW each, the couple does not pay an electricity bill.

solar energy

Water supply

During the rainy season, it is the community borewells located 200 m from their home, that fill up with water and provide them with an ample supply. The three wells, two of them 5 ft and the other 8 ft, supply water to 30 homes in the community.

With all these eco-friendly measures, the couple stands proud of the home they have created.

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