Shaghun Singh, founder of Geelimitti farms and educational research centre, talks about the common myths that are associated with mud houses.
Most believe that mud houses are not strong enough, are expensive to build and maintain and not suited for regions which have high rainfall. Shaghun shatters all these wrong notions.
She highlights the thermal regulation properties of the contruction materials. Cement houses are hotter than the outside atmosphere in summer and colder in winter. During the monsoons, humidity is always high inside a cement house.
But mud houses can maintain an ideal temperature despite the weather conditions. This is because unlike the cement houses, these earthy constructions can breathe, says Shagun.
She also demonstrates, step by step, the various techniques and designs to build a mud house. Cement is not a bad construction material but it has a lower longevity and cannot be reused, she says.
Cement is human-made and houses made of it last about a 100 years. The life of mud houses, however, is at least 200 years. Also, one can always reuse the mud to build a new structure once the house is demolished, she adds.