APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

Need for Energy saving eco-responsive sustainable development

Issue based DiscussionPart -1

BY

SHIRISH AVRANIArchitect - Planner

• D Need for alternative TechnologyDue to national growth and rapidly rising need for building more houses, there is aneconomic pressure on the construction industry to raise and speed up its productionpotential.• The current housing shortage stands at about 45 million in rural and urban areasput together.• Need for construction does not confine itself to housing alone, but also extendsto other tamenitiesype of buildings such as hotels, institutes, schools, healthcenters, public, farm structures, social building, work places, ware housing etc.• For the poorer counties, which often cannot afford or fully use sophisticatedequipment, there is a need for appropriate technology that will make use of theirmost abundant resource : people. Our experience suggest that labor basedconstruction programs –like programs involving the most advance technology cannot solve the grave problem of the developing countries where labor is abundantand capital scare, however labor based programs are an indispensible part of longterm strategies for rural development.- A world Bank Report• Unfortunately, disproportion between the total need of buildings and availableconstruction capacity in terms of material and manpower constitutes the biggestconstraint in achieving any satisfactory level of construction output, even if financialresources are made available.• Limited construction capacity is largely due to:• Scarcity of basic materials like cement, steel, bricks etc.,• Persisting traditional design and construction methods, and• General scarcity of financial resources.

LANDDeveloped landPhysical & Social Infrastructure.Accessibility

POTENTIAL

FINANCESelf FinanceGovt. SchemesInstitutional Finance

AFFORDABILITY

ACTORSIndividualPublic AgenciesCorporate SectorCommercial Entrepreneurs.

CREDIBILITY

TECHNOLOGYMaterialTechniquesLabour

APPROPRITE

BASIC RESOURCES FOR CONSTRUTION ACTIVITY

COMPOSITION OF BUILDING MATERIAL & LABOUR COMPONENT

Building material : 2/3 of the cost of construction (66.6 %)Labour component : 1/3 of the cost of construction (33.3 %)

Guiding PrincipalsSome of the guide principals in developing the sustainable alternative building technologies can be summarized as follow:

• Energy conservation

• Minimize the use of high energy materials

• Concern for environment

• Environment-friendly technologies

• Minimize transportation and maximize the use of local materials and resources

• Decentralized of industrial and mine wastes for the production of building materials

• Recycling of building wastes and use of renewable energy sources.

Building technologies manufactured by meeting these principles could become sustainable and facilitate sharing the resources especially energy resources more efficiently, causing minimum damage to environment.

Now people are searching for good and environment friendly material

COMPOSIT MATERILS FROM AGRO-INDUSTRIAL WASTES

Item SourceQty. in Mt./Year Application as Building Material

Flyash Thermal Power-Station 95.00 Flyash bricks, Cellular Concrete, Lightweight Aggregates

Clinder Thermal Power StationRailways

NA Concrete Blocks, Mud Blocks from Black Cotton Soil

Gypsum Gypsum Mines 4.00 Gypsum Plaster –fiber glassPartitions, false ceiling

Phospo-Gypsum Fertilizer Plants NA Gypsum Boards, Gypsum Plaster etc.

Red Mud Aluminum Plants 3.50 Brick and Tiles, Red mud PVC fiber –corrugated roofing sheet, panels

Broken glass & ceramic

Glass and ceramic industry

NA Insulating bricks and tiles, flooring tiles, decorative panels

Item Source Qty. in Mt./Year Application as Building Material

Saw mill waste Saw mill 2.00 Cement bonded blocks, boards, particle boards, insulation boards.

Rice Husk Rice Mill 20.00 Rise husk synthetic resin for Building Panels, false ceiling, door /window shutters, roofing panels, flooring, Bricks manufacturing

Bagasses Sugar Industries NA Insulation Boards, Wall Panels etc.Bagassis synthetic resin -Door/window shutters, flooring and furniture

Cotton stalk Cotton Plantation 1.10 Fibber Boards, Panels, Shutters

Coconut husk Coir fiber industry 1.60 Coir Polymer compositeWall paneling, false ceiling, partitions, door/window shuttersRoofing panels

Jute fiber Jute Industry 1.44 Jute, synthetic resinDoor / window shutters, frames

Groundnut shell Groundnut oil mill 11.00 Building blocks, panels, roofing sheets, particle boards

Banana leaves/ stalk

Banana plants 0.20 Building boards, fire resistant fiber boards.

Rice/ wheat straw Agriculture farm 12.00 Roofing units, wall panels/boards

APPROPRIATETECHNOLOGY

CRITERIAFORSELECTION

PEOPLE

PLACE

TIME

ECONOMY

ENVIRONMENTALISSUES

CULTURAL ASPECTSPhilosophy PARTICIPATORY PLANNING DEMOCRETIC APPROACH

FOR THE PEOPLEBY THE PEOPLEOF THE PEOPLE

AVAILABLITY OF MATERIALSGEOGROPHYSEISMIC ZONECYCLONE PRONE AREASCLIMATIC CONSIDERATIONSRURAL AREAURBAN AREA

POLLUTION FREEBIO-DEGRADABLERECYCLABLE ENERGY CONSERVATION

LOCAL ECONOMYLABOUR intensiveEconomy is more powerfull than ecology

DURATION –TIME FRAMEERA (PERIOD) –SPIRIT OF THE AGE

What is “Low Cost” TECHNOLOGY?

Not the inferior quality but appropriate / cost effective technology.Not meant only for the poor but for all class of people.Cheaper yet durable.Does not require any sophisticated machinery or equipments.Does not require large capital investment.Construction technology without compromising on quality and

strength.

ALTERNATIVE- APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

Appropriate technology is the creation of human ingenuity and springs in response to local needs and possibilities. It is ready for use by the common people and aims directly at improving the quality of their lives. It draws upon the existing resources and skills available in an area, while maintaining man’s harmony with nature.Our national imperative is now to combine modern scientific concept and tools with traditional knowledge, resulting in forms useful to man: A method, a process, a design, a device or a product which will open up a new path to development.

IT IS A TECHNOLOGY : OF THE PEOPLEFOR THE PEOPLEBY THE PEOPLE

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

ASPECTS

PHILOSOPHICAL NEED - BASED

Affordability Shortage of housing stock and conventional building materials

Resource Constraints

Energy Efficiency and energy conservation

(Embodied Energy)

Ecological Balance Eco-friendly, Biodegradable Sustainable development

Self – help

Psychological

A way of life

ACHIVING COST EFFECTIVENESS

PLANNING / DESIGNINPUTS

CONSTRUCTIONMANAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGICAL INPUTS

Design considerations

Minimum openingsLess wall areaMinimum servicesSpan reduction

Financial Resource planning

Timely procurement of materialWork force planningScheduling

TECHNOLOGY

TRADITIONALRURAL BASEMaterial and TechniqueMud, wood, bamboo Bricks etc..

CONVENTIONALURBAN BASEMaterial and techniqueCement, RCC, Steel etc.

NON – CONVENTIONAL TECHNOLOGYALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGYAPPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

Cost – effective technologyLow – cost technology

Objectives•Economic efficiencyEquity and social justiceEnvironmental harmonyResource conservationSelf reliance

Means of Achieving•Economy Local economyLocally available materialsLabour – intensiveEnergy efficiency

(Less fuel)

Technology evolvedBy

Research / development institutions

Technology evolvedBy

People themselves

CONCEPT OF ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTDefination

An “ Ecological Footprint “ is a measure of the “load” imposed on the natural environment by a given population and represents the land area necessary to sustain and represents the land area necessary to sustain current levels of resource consumption and waste discharge by the population. Human activities such as eating, traveling and purchasing consumer items all contribute to ecological footprints. The measure was invented by Drs. Mathis Wackernagel and William Reese.

Using eco-footprint we can estimate the area of land needed to support a household, a school, a business or a society as they currently operate.It is a technique that has begun to measure the ecological carrying capacity of earth – to find out how many human beings the planet can carry without degrading its ecology and atmosphere beyond a specified limit.

What is ecological foot printing ?

“The ecological footprint represents the biologically productive land and water areas required to produce the resources consumed and assimilate the wastes generated by a given population using prevailing technology.”

Average ecological footprint of various nations in Global hectares

United Arab Emirates : 10.68Qatar : 10.51United States : 8.0Canada : 7.01 (Approx. size of 15 football fields)Australia : 6.84Germany : 5.08United Kingdom : 4.89China : 2.21India : 0.91Pakistan : 0.77Bangladesh : 0.62

Eco-foot printing indicates how much land ( in global hectares ) is needed to support a person or population’s lifestyle.

TECHNOLOGY EVOLVED BY RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS

Development Alternatives – New Delhi

TECHNOLOGY EVOLVED BY RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS

Wall : Stabilised mud blocks Plaster : Non erodable mud plaster

Roofing : Domes, Nubian vaults, brick vaults, Jack arch roofing system, stone slabs etc.Door/windows : Brick Corbelling, brick arch

Development Alternatives

Internal court

Internal Court

Development Alternative

Internal CourtDevelopment Alternative

Stabilised mud block press machine – Balram developed by Development Alternative – New Delhi

Process of manufacturing - Human energy is saved by just rotating the leaver arm

About 400 blocks are manufactured in a day with the help of four laborers

Blocks are stacked in alternative layer for air and water curing for fifteen days.

Creating hallow blocks with the help of nails in the mould – Experimental stage at Nizamuddin Building Centre – New Delhi

Non erodable mud plaster – 15 part mud : 5 part tar : 1 Part kerosene- mixed together and applied on mud walls.

Casting ground of Ferro –cement semi circular shell roofing system

View of building centre constructed using stabilized mud blocks and Ferro cement roofing system

Curing ground for Ferro cement shell roofing units. – Curing with wet gunny bags

MCR – Micro Concrete Roofing System developed by Development Alternatives – New Delhi

There is an arrangement for tying the MCR units with rafters by wires so that it does not blown off during cyclonic wind.

Clay tiles press mould : The hexagonal clay tiles made out of simple mould costing about Rs. 200. Can be developed as a cottage industry .

Process of making clay tiles. Lump of clay is prepared and mould is pressed on it to give a hexagonal shape.

Demoulding of clay tiles. The tiles are kept for drying under the shade and finally burnt in a kiln. About 400 tiles can be manufactured in a day.

Thank You

End of Part - 1