A&D, India MIPAA Mission Report – Part A About the Organisation
Aug, 2003
MIPAA DOCUMENTATION REPORT
MAY – SEPT 2003
Organization
Centre for Appropriate Rural Technology - CART
Documentation team
Andrea Pavia and Hrydhal Damani
Contents
PartA - about the organisation
Contacts 3
Organisation Structure 3
Programmes and Activities 3
Strengths 6
Impact 9
Areas of operation 10
Target groups/beneficiaries 10 Funding 10
Linkages with other organisations/partnerships 10
Philosophy and Approaches 11
On the people interviewed 11
About MIPAA 12
Part B – 1 Roof design solution for a private residence
Reason of selection for documentation 13
Information on the Project 13
Project details 14
About the technology 14
Impact 15
Part B – 2 A Private Residence in Mysore
Reason of selection for documentation 17
About the project 17
Project details 18
About the technology` 18
Part C – Impressions and comments by the team
References(for a complete list of references refer to the linked excel file)
Centre for Appropriate Rural Technology - CART Part A
Name of the organisation
Centre for Appropriate Rural Technologies (CART),
The National Institute of Engineering
Type
Research Institute
Status
The Rural Development Wing of the National Institute of Engineering at Mysore
Address
The National Institute of Engineering, Near Silk Factory,
Mysore – 570 008, Karnataka
Telephone
Tel:91-821-480475, 481220 Extn 320
Fax: 91-821-485802
E-mail:
Website:
Contact persons:
U.N.Ravi Kumar, Director of CART
Email:
Organisation structure
CART was started in 1991 and is directed by Mr. Ravi Kumar, a faculty member of the National Institute of Engineering. The center is staffed with trained personnel which include employees and other faculty members form NIE, who provide assistance to all users. There is also an administration staff, which mainly looks after the internal functioning.
It has recently begun the building materials project, which mainly deals with the research and dissemination of appropriate building materials and technologies. It is currently headed by Mr. Rajesh Jain, an architect from Mysore who is solely interested in practicing in environment friendly and cost-effective construction.
Programmes and Activities
Background
The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore started in 1946, is among the oldest colleges in the country and is affiliated to Vishveshwaraya Technical University. In late 1980s some of the faculty members realised that there were many technologies for rural development and a lot of research was happening on them all over the world. However, the target group for whom these technologies are designed, namely the rural and the poor were not getting the benefits due to a lack of proper implementation. Hence, a few of the faculty including Mr. Ravi Kumar took up some space in the campus to house the rural technologies wing of the institute and named it CART, Center for Appropriate Rural Technologies. Their main activities are to collect all the available information on rural technologies, compile them to form a resource center and find methods to disseminate them to various people needing technological assistance. They give consultation, technical guidance and supervision to all the people who are interested in using the technologies that they promote. Hence, they are not implementers, but are mainly promoters of technology and work in partnership with people involved in the task of implementing.
The Main objectives of CART as told by them are:
-Promotion, advocacy and endorsement of Appropriate Technology culture in Contemporary India and the Third World.
-Providing a forum for policy and action for all concerned about developing a holistic and balanced mode of development practices.
-Development and implementation of mechanisms aimed at Social, Economic, Environmental, Technological and Gender empowerment.
-Sensitize students, professionals, decision-makers and administrators about the emerging dimensions and imperatives of Sustainable Development.
-Conduct research, offer consultancy, run formal and non-formal courses, training programs and projects related to Appropriate Technology and Sustainable Development.
-Establish extension centers in rural areas to actively pursue implementation of Sustainable Development practices.
-Document, publish and exchange information, experiences and resource persons regarding Appropriate Technology and Sustainable Development.
CART was started in 1991 as a project, it evolved into a department and today it stands as an independent center yet being attached to the National Institute of Engineering at Mysore, India. Its activities are oriented in four main topics of research and implementation, namely Environment and Habitat, Energy, Sustainable Agriculture and Education.
Environment
Through exposure programs and interactions with various people, CART endeavors to sensitize people, to environmental issues and create awareness in the topics of the role of biodiversity, ecosystem linkages and natural cycles in nature. The primary objective of this program is to address the immediate issue of conserving and rehabilitating local life support systems such as the wetlands, tanks and lakes that have come under pressure. Wasteland development and soil and water conservation are a part of this program.
The Environment program of CART is implemented through three subprograms, namely, Wet Land conservation, Waste Land development and Vermicomposting.
Habitat
The Habitat program aims at promoting well-established alternative building techniques at field level, which are energy conserving, cost effective and employment generating as well. It recognizes that the first step is to find acceptance of these technologies among the people. This has been attempted by setting numerous examples, which serve as demonstration centers.
The habitat program of CART is implemented by two subprograms, namely, roofing systems and wall building.
Roofing Systems
They experiment with various alternatives to conventional permanent roofing such as Geodesic domes, arches and vaults. Domes with Ferrocement cladding utilize much less material and achieve uniform distribution of load further economizing material usage. Its foundation therefore is nominal and there is a significant reduction in cost. Masonry Domes completely do away with structural support during and after construction and are a form of "Earth Roofing". It can be constructed with simple skills and minimal use of steel. Arches and vaults are the most economic way to span openings.
Micro concrete tiles for roofing is an effective alternative to burnt clay tiles. Apart from economy it promotes local production and employment. Whereas, Conical tile arch roofing uses conical burnt clay "tiles" made into a vault which is plastered from outside. This acts as a permanent roof and reduces the necessity of support structures.
Wall Building
This subprogram explores the use of "mud" as a viable building material. This has been undertaken in the form of Stabilized Mud Blocks, which are an alternative to "burnt bricks" and are therefore far less energy intensive. The production, moreover, could be potential employment for many. They can be plastered with Stabilized Mud Mortar the use of which has proved to be more economical and pliable.
They also experiment with Puzzolana Cement which is a combination of cementaceous, materials like pulverized clay and paddy husks, which has been tried out with encouraging results.
During the years 2000-2005, in coordination with the partner member, Development Alternatives, New Delhi CART is extending its support in a shelter related programme in three district namely Mysore, Mandya and Chamarajanagar. This CART-DA-SDC building material project is financially supported by the Swiss Development Corporation. The project aims to improve the rural habitat by evolving a network between various agencies involved in habitat project in the region with Sustainable Building Technology (SBT) as their prime concern.
Energy
This program aims at developing, disseminating and promoting technologies, which are renewable, appropriate, contextual and decentralized. At the same time CART believes in further encouraging existing sustainable practices and nurturing local innovators and initiatives as they already have found acceptability and usefulness in their contexts. To promote and sustain the use of these technologies on a permanent basis, it thinks it necessary to make changes at the policy level.
The Energy program of CART is implemented in three subprogram areas, namely Bio-mass Energy, Solar Energy, and Micro Hydro Power generation in Western Ghats.
Sustainable Agriculture
The agriculture program has been one of advocacy of sustainable practices and life styles like water management, natural agriculture and permaculture, and of intervention to increase the resourcefulness of the farmers to attempt and achieve the objective of sustainable agriculture. It also promotes alternate technologies such as human power driven Micro drip irrigation, water lifting pumps and many more.
This has two sub programmes, namely, rainwater harvesting and water lifting.
Education
CART advocates alternativeskills and environment-based approaches to education. It does so by conducting workshops, seminars and training programmes on general and topical issues of Appropriate Technology at both student and professional levels. Students in particular are exposed to real rural situations to gain understanding of real time design.
Strengths
Resource center
CART is at present a very vibrant well-established Appropriate Technology Resource centre, which is enjoying excellent credibility from grass roots level practitioners, policy makers, and academic community.
Cart has through the years been able to collect a lot of technical and research material form various institutes and organization, which is stocked in an independent library exclusively stocking books, journals, reports, etc., on Appropriate Technologies and Sustainable Development. The resource materials are mostly in English and a sizable portion is in vernacular language, namely, Kannada. The library has reference facilities, which is accessible to anyone interested.
Additionally, the center is equipped with many other effective audiovisual facilities. It houses a good collection of videocassettes on diverse topics relating to environment and development, with a video projection system and slide projectors with a collection of slides on relevant topics. It also has a collection of educational posters on relevant topics; either made by them or sourced out form various organizations. Computers are also available for data management and documentation.
The well stocked library in the cart Resource Center
Demonstration center
For finding acceptance to their technologies CART felt it necessary to first be able to demonstrate to the people. For this purpose, they decided to house working models of all their technologies, in their campus itself, so that the people could be bought here for an exposure visit.
The demonstration center focuses it's attention on practical aspects of Appropriate Technologies. Many tools and techniques of appropriate technologies are developed and demonstrated here.Frequent exhibitions are held as a promotional campaign regarding Appropriate Technology.
A geodesic domed exhibition hall in the NIE campus
Technologies
Initially, CART has sourced and identified many alternate technologies, form different parts of the country. Since then, their focus has been on simplifying these technologies to such a level that they can be easily taught even to an uneducated laborer. For this they went about setting up demonstration units, conducting training programme, printing and publishing educative posters, and providing consultation and supervision on the field level.
They have 3 major focii, namely, Building materials, Energy and Rainwater harvesting.
Their construction related technologies include arch foundations, geodesic domes, MCR tiles, arch panel roof, flat brick panel roof, water tank, hollow clay blocks, stabilized mud mortar blocks, boulder blocks for foundation, fiber glass trolleys etc. Their Building Materials Programme was started exclusively to focus on appropriate building Materials which consume less amount of energy. They have worked extensively in producing soil cement mud blocks for the last 10 years. They also produce, train masons in production and promote Mysore Cement Roofing Tiles.
They have created simple to use and effective technologies for producing energy and electricity in small quantities which can be applied in rural areas, such as Micro hydro generator. Also they have experimented with other techniques such as smokeless chula, pedal push pump and gasifiers.
Rainwater harvesting is one of their major activities, wherein they have given technical assistance and consultation to many villages and NGOs. They are in the process of promoting rooftop rainwater harvesting structures.
Training and Support services
Short-term training programmes are conducted at all levels both in house and at site, targeted to all range of people form the professionals, students, supervisors and the field level workers. CART extends both professional consultancy and field level support to all those interested in implementing the technologies that they promote.
At an academic level, CART conducts workshops, seminars and offers training programmes on general and topical issues of Appropriate Technology, at both student and professional levels.
At a rural or local level, their training is extensively based on a face-to-face and hands-on approach. They have trained many masons and master masons in production and use of these mud blocks, and some have now become independent entrepreneurs.
Charts and photographs which are used as training and dissemination tools
Research and development
CART has done a lot of Research on technologies and building materials appropriate in rural areas. Currently, research and development is being carried out on specific issues such as, basic level training for entrepreneurs, man power training for workers, quality assurance for tiles and roofs, guidance for roof understructure construction and tile laying, equipment maintenance and supply of spare parts, support for setting up enterprises and roof design assistance.
Impact
Since, they believe in achieving effective technology transfer at the grassroots level and since they work in a more localized area, namely in and around Mysore, they have been able to slowly but steadily make inroads into the construction markets. Along with like-minded architects, engineers, contractors, mason and building material entrepreneurs, they have been able to construct a sizable number of buildings using appropriate technologies. These buildings are raking up curiosity in the local people who get interested mainly due to cost-reduction and environmental benefits that these technologies offer.
CART has trained many masons and master masons in production and use of mud blocks, and they have now become independent entrepreneurs. For example Mr. Shiv Kumar who was initially an employee of CART is now a private entrepreneur who runs a compressed, stabilized mud block-manufacturing unit. Mr. Ramesh, an engineer and also a former employee of CART, now undertakes private building contracts providing design and construction solutions using appropriate technologies. He initially convinces his clients by showing them the cost reduction benefits of these technologies, and later also explains them about the additional advantages which fully convince them. Members form CART were surprised during one of their field visits to discover that some of their local masons have built their own houses using filler slabs. This they believe is an indicator of effective technology transfer, wherein the building movement spreads and sustains without their direct involvement or control.
Areas of operation
They network in a small geographical area, namely in and around Mysore, and do not have a wide area focus. They are keen on dissemination of these technologies and are also in the process of looking for various ways and means in which these can be done effectively. Hence they work by linking up with partners, who will implement their technologies. Most of their clients include organisations, institutes and NGOs needing technical assistance but, they also guide many individuals who come for help for their private buildings. They have many visitors, students and professionals, who come to them for inquiry and information.
Target groups/beneficiaries
The centre is mainly engaged in developing and implementing simple technologies applicable and accessible in the rural context. The centre also acts as a forum for interaction among students, faculty members, governmental and non-governmental. organizations interested and involved in rural development.
Funding
The centre was started with the financial assistance from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, the Department of Education, Government of India and the management of NIE, Mysore.
Currently the research gets part of its core funding through the NIE society. The rest they raise through different means.
Linkages with other organizations/partners
Since, CART is not an implementing agency and only gives consultancy and technical support, most of their project happen through partnerships. They have worked with local state level NGOs such as MYRADA, on provide training and installing rainwater-harvesting systems.
Mr. Ravi Kumar is on the board of Directors of the Nirmiti Kendra at Bogadi. This ensures a lot of exchange of resources and know-how. They also network with like-minded architects such as Mr. Bhooshan in Mysore and many others such as Chitra-Vishwanath in Bangalore
They are also working on the SDC funded shelter programme with Development Alternatives in three districts of Karnataka.
Philosophy / Approaches
CART believes that the current activities of development undertaken by many nations have put ecology and critical life support systems in jeopardy. Hence it advocates the adoption of a holistic perspective of development, where in the protection, management and strengthening of ecosystems could itself become a means of the development process to achieve its end objectives of industry, employment generation and economic growth.
Cart has been formed to develop and implement appropriate rural technologies for achieving sustainable development.