JANASEWA SCHOOL
Place: Namje, Bhedetar VDC
Estimated Cost: Rs.3,000,000
Project Date: August, 2008
Sponsor: Fundraised from various sources, initiated by Rajiv Goyal
Material: rammed earth, adobe and bamboo
Background: In Nepal, it is still a harsh reality, that many villages do not have an access to roads. Among other things, the inaccessibility makes it particularly difficult to build schools, hospitals or other infrastructure using modern material. Recently, people of Bhedetar VDC, completed a school by carrying bags of cement and steel for hours in a very rough mountainous terrain. In other parts of the country, situation is worse as villages are 5-6 days walking distance away from a motorized road. Though it might sound back naïve, we stilled wondered why people didn’t build using the local available material. Though people were convinced of the thermal quality and longevity of the local materials, they hadn’t built structures with long span using these materials. After much study, we developed bamboo structures that are 15 meters wide and 150 meters long! The structure uses a combination of traditional material and the modern cement (about 10%). To be built with totally 100% community initiation, after it is built the school can surely challenge the way people view the traditional structures.