A case of Sustainable Construction – Sparrow Woods
A termite hill, a beehive, a rodent’s burrow, a bird’s nest, and a spider’s web are all examples of natural buildings. One of the natural buildings we couldn’t miss documenting- A Mud Dauber’s nest building. What defines them is not just the materials used, but the building process, the manual effort involved, the sturdiness achieved, efficient use of resources, and regular maintenance or rebuilding. These qualities distinguish natural buildings—setting them apart from human-made modern structures.
Why do we claim Sparrow Woods to be a natural building?
Earthen construction method
Our mud cottages have utilized abundant regional materials, primarily mud and stones, for approximately 80% of the walls. Plastic bags filled with mud also form part of the structure, and red clay mud plaster gives a neat finish. If left unattended, nature would eventually reclaim the structure.
The creators, Paras, Vishwajeet, and Hemant ji, along with a few labourers, have built the structure by hand. They have poured in the authentic labour of love in each and every brick and wall. Automated intervention was limited to a welding machine for the roofs and pieces of furniture.
Local Sourcing
We have procured most construction and resource materials from a maximum distance of 50 km from Sparrow Woods, cutting down transportation costs for exclusive/ exotic items.
A local carpenter has handcrafted the pieces of furniture ; similarly, a local basket maker has created aesthetically pleasing shades to cover the light bulbs. There were no architects or Engineers involved in the design of the mud cottages. The outcome resulted from past experiences of the creators and was a slow process of trial and error.
Energy Efficiency has been our top priority.
Our rooms are designed with airy interiors for cross-ventilation. However, the summers here may not even require fans to keep you cool. The mudwalls work as good insulators, keeping you warm during the winter. We have ensured wide and long windows to make your vacations at Sparrow Woods an Instagrammable or picturesque one. The cafe’s glass front and a transparent section of the roof keep the area naturally lit for most parts of the day.
We have connected the drainage systems have to a grey water recyclable pit, which transforms the pollutants, organic matter, and soap residues into plant nutrients through natural filtration.
Having said all of it, we are far from perfect, but we are indeed happy to have taken the best of our steps to remain as close to nature as possible. We describe Sparrow Woods as a hybrid structure, combining natural building principles such as local sourcing, handcrafted construction, and low-impact materials, with the goal of further reducing our ecological footprint and achieving a completely natural approach.
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