Peuterspeelzaal Vellalapatty, Tamil Nadu, Zuid India

Projectdata

Start of construction: September 2006

End of construction: June 2007

Construction costs: 8.500 euro

Contribution SSF: 8.500 euro

 

Dit project is sponsored by:
 
 

 

Het project

This 200 years old village is located at 15 km distance from Salem City. It is situated at quite some distance from the main road and its setting is rural. Here over 4000 families live in an area of about 2 square kilometers, totaling 17.000 inhabitants. This school will serve about 40 children annually. In October 2006 we have purchased a piece of land in the middle of the village. It is a perfect piece of land for a pre-school, surrounded by nature and agricultural land. Before we bought the land, we have tested the suitability of the soil for block making. Then we have achieved the necessary building permits from the Gran Panchayat, the mayor of the vellalapatty.

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The design contains a variety of alternative materials, which are cheaper and / or more environmentally friendly than the usual materials and common techniques. The school building houses a multifunctional space with a large attached veranda. Here the daily activities take place, such as playing, learning, eating and sleeping. The classroom is split in two parts, and the lower part acts as a play pit. Outside the building we placed a separate sanitation core with two child friendly toilets, and a kitchen where healthy meals will be prepared. The walls have been built with SMB; Stabilized Mud Blocks. In Bangalore we have purchased our own block making machine and we have trained 6 local people for block making and block masonry. The blocks were pressed from the soil of our own land, mixed with quarry dust and just a little bit of cement. These blocks have also been used in the filler slabs, an alternative way of constructing the roof.
 
Floor plan of the school building and the sanitation block.

 

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A mixture of earth and chalk is used to mark the outlines of the foundation.

 

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Hard stones are thrown in the trenches in layers of 2 feet. After that the cavities between the stones are filled with liquid mud.

 

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Above ground level we use nicely square cut stones and cement mortar.

 

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Preparation of the steel bars for the reinforced plinth beam.

 

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The steel rods are bent in shape and connected with steel wire on top of the foundation. After that the formwork is installed, which is being filled with concrete.

 

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We use the excavated soil for the pressing of our own blocks. We sieve the soil, using a 4 millimeter wire mesh.

 

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The next ingredient is quarry dust, which is a waste product and therefore much cheaper than sand.

 

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First we mix 5 to 6 parts of quarry dust, depending on the particle size, with 6 parts of sieved soil.

 

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Then we add exactly 9 kg of cement and 10 to 12 liters of water, depending on the moisture content of the sieved soil.

 

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And then the real action starts; the pressing of the block has to be done by 2 to 3 people!

 

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After that the press is opened and the block can be carried to the stacking zone. This first day they may not be touched or moved again.

 

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In the roof we will put filler blocks, for which we have bought a special mould. These blocks are thinner and are partially hollow. Totally we have pressed 6000 blocks.

 

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December 10, 2006. Start of the masonry for the sanitation core. As we will not plaster and paint the walls, the masons have to work very carefully and place every block at the right position.

 

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Corner detail and the connection with the interior wall.

 

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Masonry patterns at the veranda of the school building.

 

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All expensive woodwork for door and window frames have been replaced by special masonry patterns. Through these “jalis” the ventilation inside will be improved.

 

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In the long wall we have built buttresses and in the short wall we have created small window gaps.

 

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As soon as the walls become too high, he masons place scaffolding around the building to work on.

 

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At lintel level we place our U-blocks, in which we put reinforcement bars. Then we pour concrete in this formwork and form a beam, in order to create more stability in the structure.

 

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At larger spans, such as above door and window openings, we have to cast a bigger beam. After that the formwork for the floors is placed.

 

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In the lower zone of the floor, where actually no concrete is needed, we use our filler blocks.

 

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These blocks we put in between the reinforcement bars and then the floor can be cast.

 

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We do not plaster our masonry, but we neatly finish the joints. First the joints are scratched open.

 

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Then we fill them again, with a very fine earth mortar. The horizontal joints are finished with a rounded wooden plank.

 

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After that the vertical joints are neatly finished as well.

 

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And this is the end result!

 

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The sanitation core on the left, and the school building on the right.