School kid innovates low-cost bricks from straw and cow dung

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Shashank Agarwal of class 11 student of Amity International School, Noida, has developed an imaginative technique for making bricks using cow dung and hay, something the late Laurie Baker, pioneer of sustainable eco-friendly architecture, would have applauded.

He was so convinced that houses for the poor could be made using these bricks, he went ahead and built a one-roof house made of these bricks as proof of concept demonstrator.

There are several resources available in abundance in India that come free and could be used for housing. Since about 70 per cent of Indians residing in villages do not have substantial means to acquire pucca dwellings, innovations such as Shashank's can help them overcome the deficiency of funds and information about these resources.

''We were always using cow dung and water mixture as a coating on walls and floors to give them strength and now we will have a chance to contribute to society to make it cleaner, greener and cheaper,'' says Shashank.

Making a brick using alternate substances to cement and kiln-baked bricks is old fashioned and is also expensive, the young student believes. The amount of CO, NO and nitrates are already high due to industrial waste, vehicles pollution and the green cover being decimated. In such a situation, making bricks made of freely available substances would help the rural poor.

''Cow dung is believed to have anti-bacterial qualities and serves as a disinfectant, is good for health, keeps away insects," says Shashank explaining why he chose this mixture.

"It is also believed to be an excellent and inexpensive insulator that helps keep houses cool in the summers and warm in the winters. These bricks are light weight, which is an advantage in the event of calamities like earthquake, as the quake impact is in proportionate to the weight of the structure.''

Bricks made from cow dung are greener and 70 per cent lighter than regular clay bricks. The basic material needed for making bricks are available free of cost, and from wastes, as opposed to conventional bricks that are made from agricultural soil and use fuels, causing emissions of gaseous pollutants and ash into the environment.