Meet the environmentalist teaching natural building techniques in India

euronews (in English)

In Participation with Media City, Qatar

Transcript

00:00 Building with mud is nothing new.

00:04 We've been doing it since the time humankind has existed.

00:08 When you talk about mud building, to a lot of people the first thing that they'll say is,

00:12 "Oh, but it requires a lot of maintenance."

00:14 But that's not true.

00:16 They will last you, well, at least a hundred years if built right.

00:19 Sustainable living is embedded in our DNA.

00:22 Most of us remember our grandmothers, our grandfathers,

00:26 had a very sustainable lifestyle.

00:28 Everything would be thrown away.

00:30 It's only in the recent past we've started moving away from it.

00:34 And saving, recycling became no longer virtues.

00:39 What became virtues was an economy of waste.

00:43 My name is Shagun, and I'm the founder of Gili Methi.

00:56 One of the reasons I got interested in natural building is because

01:00 natural building is never limited to the structure.

01:03 It is about how you live.

01:06 If you want to start leading a more sustainable lifestyle,

01:10 where do you get the information from?

01:12 That's why this particular space was created as a center of excellence,

01:17 as a demonstration center, as a research cum training center,

01:21 for leading a sustainable lifestyle.

01:24 [Music]

01:26 The organization started with our first workshop in 2016.

01:37 Our workshops say intensive natural building course,

01:41 or permaculture design certification course,

01:44 or a water management course.

01:46 But once people come in, the first thing that we tell them is,

01:49 that's not all that you're going to be learning.

01:51 [Music]

01:53 While they live over here,

01:56 they experience what sustainable living is all about.

02:00 All the way from living in actual mud structures,

02:03 to what are they washing their clothes with,

02:05 to what are they brushing their teeth with.

02:07 Every single aspect of their life is covered while they're living over here.

02:11 [Music]

02:14 We have participants who are two years old,

02:18 and we have participants who are 95 years old.

02:21 There are people who have no experience,

02:23 and then we have professionals.

02:25 They come over because they want to start living a sustainable life.

02:29 When we talk about mud building, there are several techniques.

02:34 Within each of these techniques, there's a huge number of variables.

02:38 Our goal is to simplify it.

02:40 There are different kinds of soil depending on where you live,

02:43 and what kind of rocks and minerals are present in that area.

02:47 Clay soil, sandy soil, straw, and water.

02:51 The four things we will mix together,

02:53 and that is your most common building material.

02:56 Even a bird, even an insect,

02:59 knows how to build a shelter for themselves,

03:01 and that's just why our goal has been to empower people,

03:05 and train them to feel confident building a beautiful,

03:09 happy, sustainable, ecological shelter for themselves and their families.

03:16 Mud buildings are brilliant,

03:18 because it controls the humidity for you,

03:20 besides controlling the temperature.

03:22 When you talk about sustainable living,

03:31 you have to start involving the community.

03:33 We have weekly meetings with the villagers,

03:36 whether that is starting to train people,

03:38 so that they also learn about natural construction,

03:41 they learn about different forms of farming,

03:44 or taking up livelihood opportunities.

03:47 Kili Mitti has been successful in terms of the number of lives we've impacted.

03:52 The magic of mud.

03:55 How beautifully can you build with mud?

04:02 The flexibility of the movement,

04:05 all the free-flowing designs, the organic shape.

04:08 I've done everything from digging,

04:12 to carrying, to building.

04:14 For me, it was super transformative.

04:17 I've learnt everything from Shagun Didi.

04:20 I've learnt how to build houses,

04:23 I've learnt everything.

04:25 I've been the one who has done most of the work.

04:29 The villagers have also seen that this is a big village,

04:32 and that everyone has worked hard.

04:34 Once I went to Kili Mitti,

04:40 Didi told me that she can cook,

04:43 or she can't cook.

04:45 There's a tiffin for the villagers,

04:46 I pack it in the tiffin,

04:47 deliver it there,

04:49 and come home.

04:51 A natural tendency of humankind

04:56 is that we want to be of service,

04:59 and we want to think beyond ourselves.

05:02 When people ask, "How can we get started?"

05:04 "What can we do for the planet?"

05:06 You start small.

05:08 Segregate your waste into biodegradable,

05:11 or non-biodegradable.

05:13 You are preventing 70-80% of waste

05:16 going into the landfill.

05:18 Once you've done that,

05:20 ensure all people around you do it.

05:22 Make that into a movement.

05:24 If you start anything new,

05:28 there's going to be a time period

05:29 where you're going to be learning new skills.

05:31 You have to stick with it.

05:33 Enjoy the change,

05:35 enjoy being uncomfortable.

05:38 Football!

05:40 If you want to do good,

05:42 there is far too much opportunity available.

05:45 You just have to be determined

05:47 and disciplined about it.

05:48 That this is something that I am going to do,

05:51 no matter what.

05:52 [Music]

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