October - 2009
Dear Nature Lovers,
We are loosing lot of biodiversity to sprawling concrete jungle & increasing city limits. And with cities choked with pollution, wastes; we strive for fresh nature & buy farm houses at countryside. Let’s develop it in tune with nature !
Regards,
Ketaki & Manasi.
Eco-landscaping & Eco-house
A small house as weekend home in nature’s company, with peaceful greenery around & chirping of birds… An ideal destination to relax & revive…
Though this dream home is what every one plan for, in reality such farm house schemes or farms have towering, lavish bungalows with all modern city amenities like TV, fridge, AC (?), and what not, along with a well designed ornamental garden.
But…
Do we loose the charm of a farm house then ? Are we putting pressure on already weakened links of ecosystem ? Can we have a better approach while developing such second homes ? How can it be more eco-friendly, more greener in true sense ?
Generally, while developing properties, existing vegetation & biodiversity is removed. Lot of soil / murrum / rock is excavated during construction & garden development. New soil is brought from outside and inert materials like cement are introduced. With every artificial material brought from outside, environment gets degraded at source & destination. Transportation of material & resources means more fuel consumption & pollution. These artificially processed materials like cement, cement tiles, bricks, steel, plastic and other not so processed materials like sand, stones, have created large mines, quarries, wastelands. This increases foot print of a farm house to many square km. so…
Solution lies in changing our perspective, adopting eco-practices by following simple rule of mimicking nature. Countryside landscapes are already in a degraded state but still hold a set of biodiversity that can be preserved & enhanced.
With eco-landscaping we can take care of local biodiversity needs, consume less energy & resources during development & even later. It focuses on preserving local land forms, vegetation while adding appropriate native plants to the garden. This will attract local birds, butterflies, providing nesting sites & food. This makes the garden aesthetically pleasing & productive and live while preserving the ecosystem needs.
An eco-house will fit perfectly in such concept. There are traditional materials, time-tested-technologies & emerging technologies to make the house ‘Green’. The list of materials & technology includes fly ash bricks, mud blocks, bamboo, mud plaster, wood, cane, natural stone, grass, etc. For energy needs we have solar, wind, biogas and many innovative options.
So, let’s make a beginning… Let’s create a real ‘Farm house’ & not a ‘city bungalow’… such landscapes & houses can look very attractive & trendy. Let’s understand our requirements & nature’s limitations to support us… For a healthy earth !

*  Open calendar image by clicking on thumbnail, save it to computer and set it as desktop background for your
    computer monitor.
*  Photos taken at Auroville & Bamboo house near Pune.

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