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Buddha Smiles School Project continuation 2004
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Elke’s report Return to the village The rains stopped just in time for the natural building camp at “Garden of Peace” School, a Buddha smiles project. For the first week or so we woke up in the morning mist and spread our mats on wet grass for the morning yoga. It was November in Tamil Nadu- about a month earlier than the year before. This time our project was to be an interfaith meditation hall, large enough for 30 people to do yoga. Since there was no plan in place yet, we went about developing a design with the group. Once again the participants came from many places in the world, with different background and full of energy to create a natural structure. Fun people, with a variety of skills from ring juggling and tight rope walking to carpentry and set design. We came up with two designs and made a decision for one. Excavation began immediately and foundation building followed. The structure was going to be a large oval, and we realized that without support, we were not able to accomplish the entire process in a three-week program. So after the foundation was built we passed on the meditation hall to the local builders and started on a play structure for the children of the school. The children at the school are between 5 and 7 years old at this point and they arrive in the morning at 9 am. Part of Buddha Smiles’ offering is the lunch, which for some is the main meal of their day. Volunteer teachers have been involved with Buddha Smiles programs. In this school the children spent time with a teacher from the US, who taught them, among other things, the “hokey pokey”, which they performed for us. For the play structure we reduced our second design of the meditation hall in scale. With the intent of building for small children the walls only come up 4-5 feet and the roof structure starts low. We brought in bamboo and palm thatch and finished the building in about a week. The final touch was lime paint, which beautifully accentuates the patterns and sculptural shapes of the interior. The overall site of the school is intended to teach children, villagers and visitors about Permaculture and demonstrate sustainable food production and land use. To further develop the planning, a Permaculture design course was held immediately following the Natural Building program. Several participants stayed on and some new folks joined in as Max Lindegger from Australia facilitated, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience. We built mulch beds, visited other Permaculture sites and worked on designs for the School’s site.
When we travel around the globe to meet in a village in India to learn and build, we carry a message. It speaks of our appreciation for traditional building methods, of our recognition that our modern, western ways are not sustainable. Returning to the same place has given me opportunities to deepen relationships with local families. I feel a sense of commitment to the project and the people involved. The next natural building camp will build the meditation hall walls- sculptural with cob and mud brick. More details will be posted as soon as I hear from Buddha Smiles.
If you would like to support the project you can write to Dr. Ramu Manivannan smilesbuddha@hotmail.com. To be on my list for information about this and other upcoming projects in India please e-mail elke@cobworks.com
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