Merle Kindred to describe building energy-efficient house in India July 31

HOUGHTON -- Merle Kindred will present "Building an Energy-Efficient House in Kerala, India" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, in the community room of the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton. Using a slide show presentation, Kindred will share her experience in the southwest corner of India, where she commissioned a prototypical house that uses alternative design and construction strategies for energy savings.

During construction of the Kerala house, workers use bamboo for lateral reinforcement instead of expensive, corroding rebar. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photos © 2008 Merle Kindred)

Designed by the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD), the house is constructed of locally made burnt bricks and mud walls with provisions for solar hot water, biogas, an Indian-designed smokeless chula (wood-burning cooker especially suited for cooking rice), rainwater harvesting, micro-hydro and containment of spring water.

This photo shows the base for the hexagonal tower of mud and rainwater storage.

COSTFORD is a non-profit organization that uses eco-friendly design and social conciousness as a path to positive societal change.

"As the global community becomes increasingly aware of the challenges associated with energy use in all forms, we are going to have to rethink how we construct our built environments," Kindred said.

Merle Kindred is seen here "between a rock and a laptop" during construction of the Kerala house.

The house models the design strategies and construction technology for an energy efficient, cost-effective building based on the principles of architect Laurie Baker (1917-2007), founder of COSTFORD. The site is a quarter of an acre on a terraced hillside overlooking an agricultural valley and open to the prevailing eastern breezes necessary for ventilation in subtropical conditions.

This is a view of the trenched site of the Kerala house from the road.

The site was cleared of underbrush with efforts to preserve coconut, banana, pepper, jackfruit, teak and other indigenous plants not directly on the building site.

"As the house grows, I will continue tending the coconut and banana, pineapple and jackfruit," Kindred noted. "Caring for the natural world helps strengthen my resolve that this house demonstrate a less obtrusive, less offensive presence as an example of an alternative built environment for greater sustainability in design and construction practices in a world grappling with abrupt climate changes from its current lifestyle practices."

The corner stone of the Kerala house is set on Dec. 26, 2007.

An indigenous Kerala cow of the vechur breed plus discarded fruit and vegetable matter from the household will provide fuel for the biogas tank. Waste water will be treated onsite using Indian technology with effluent directed into the biogas tank and purified water returned to the stream for agricultural use. Both spring water and rainwater will be harvested in onsite tanks.

The household is designed for two cultures and three generations of inhabitants and provisions have been made for culturally-diverse visitors with guest quarters equipped with both Indian and Western toilets. Food-bearing and medicinal plants abound and will continue to be nurtured and increased for the health and welfare of the household, livestock (initially cows and chickens), and wild creatures.

Kindred is a recent Michigan Tech graduate with doctoral studies focused on alternative rhetorical strategies relating to altering perception and action in relation to energy use in the residential built environment. She recently presented a paper at the annual conference of the American Solar Energy Society in San Diego. The title is "An Indo-American Venture: Building an Energy Efficient House in Kerala, India, with the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) Using Indigenous Materials and Appropriate Technology."

At the library presentation, items and books from India will be on display and Indian refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited to attend library events, and presentations are free. For more information please call 482-4570.

Editor's Notes:
Text courtesy Merle Kindred and Portage Lake District Library. Photos courtesy Merle Kindred, through Kodakgallery.com.

Merle Kindred, Keweenaw Now guest columnist, has family roots in the Copper Country that date back to great grandparents who settled in Atlantic Mine in 1900, but left for Saskatchewan in 1912. Merle was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Warren, Michigan. She has served as a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) Volunteer in the U.S. Virgin Islands and as a CUSO (Canadian University Service Overseas) Volunteer in Jamaica. Merle also trained teachers for six years in the Bahamas. She has been active locally in Habitat for Humanity. See her profile and links to her articles on our archived Keweenaw Now site.