 CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Our New Home
From the moment we first saw the property in Coorg, with its sweeping vistas and many terraces, we envisioned a solidly built home and school where former street children could grow into whole human beings in the lap of Mother Nature. However, because of the pristine beauty of the landscape, we were cautious about imposing any structure on the beautiful forest. We knew what we created must serve the highest good of the forest as well as the children.
This was 2006 and children and staff were bursting out of our small Whitefield home so the need to move was urgent. Here was the Coorg land, by God's grace fully owned by The Children's Project Trust, waiting. A decision was made to erect temporary houses on a neighboring property that would be just enough for the moment. We knew that a future building would soon follow to better accommodate the children we had and also the many new children to come. We moved into the colourful cluster of small buildings on a flat area below our land just after the rains of 2007.
The "Upperland", as it was dubbed by the children, had to be cleared, leveled and prepared with care before we could launch into major construction. From the first our plan has been to be self-sustaining. So, in addition to a main building with facilities for a 100+ souls, we considered how to incorporate kitchen gardens, outbuildings for our animals and play areas while maintaining the viability of the plantation for coffee, vanilla and other commercial crops -- all of this while "treading lightly" on the earth!
Our new building is a huge step up from the mud structures erected in 2007. Constructed of poured concrete, it's made to stand the test of time - and the yearly monsoon drenching! The total square footage of 18,000, spread over 2.5 floors, will house dormitories and classrooms as well as a library, computer room and media centre.
The Ground floor will be devoted to classrooms and school office space while the second floor will contain the sleeping and living areas. The school's kitchen is on the lowest half level and abuts the large dining hall, which features a small fountain and is entirely open on 2 sides with great views to take advantage of the natural slope of the land. Large central halls stretch through both upper floors of the building and will serve as very good space for play and study. A great staircase climbs through the core of the building below a skylight designed to bring in outside lighting.
We are hoping to acquire a solidly built cast iron woodburning stove from the USA to ensure that we can stay warm and dry inside during the rainy season. Outside, the building will have a covered wraparound veranda for play during the wet months. Small gazebos will be nestled in the trees for outdoor classes, study or just peaceful retreats during the warm dry summers.
The proposed completion date of our new home is February 2011. Personal and donated monies are being used for the project and more funds are still required to ensure the vision comes alive in the right way. Regular progress reports on all construction activities will be posted on the website.
Other Constructions
Cow Barn
A pre-existing building was quickly renovated in early 2009 and that has served as a temporary home for our dairy herd of 7 cows. A large extention to the cow barn has been in the works for the last several months. The new barn will have room for up to 18 cows. A large industrial kitchen is being constructed on its second floor. This will be both a teaching laboratory as well as a commercial resource for the preparation of milk products like yogurt, butter and ice cream. Down the road, we plan to sell these items at our own ice cream café in our local town of Madikeri - staffed and managed by the children. Another section of this floor will eventually house commercial ovens for a bakery. That they be large enough for pizza is on the children's wish list!
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Guest Cottage
An experiment with traditional building materials, these three rooms with adjacent baths were built entirely without any cement or mortar. Instead we used mud, which allows us to safely dismantle and relocate the structure if we choose. This structure was completed in April 2009 and is alternately used for staff quarters and offices. Those who stay report that it keeps them snug and dry even in the heaviest rains.
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Teachers' Cottage
A charming but not so successful experiment in wood construction, this building has nevertheless performed yeoman service for us since its completion in March 2009. What started as a home for some of our teachers has evolved into a classroom and favourite meeting place. While it taught us that wood, although plentiful in Coorg, is not the best building medium for a rainforest environment, the building still has its uses.
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Dog Kennels
We currently share our home with a number of fine dogs, specifically purebred Rottweilers. Our animals have been selected from a top German breeder for the purity of their lineage and character traits, which include high intelligence and trainability, determination, patience, courage and a deep devotion to their masters. In the future we hope to operate a top-notch breeding and training center and for that we wanted to build them first class quarters!
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Borewell
Coorg is blessed with clear mountain springs and of course the river, Kaveri, but we had to insure we had access to enough readily available high quality water to support our growing family. In September 2009 we contracted a water diviner. Using the ancient coconut techniques, he selected a spot for us. A special puja (ceremony, to bless the project) was held and then we began to dig. We struck water at 252 feet, just 2 feet beyond the diviner's estimate of 250. We went another 180 feet to ensure the highest quantity and purity. A filter pump was installed and we now can pump up to 400 liters per hour, enough for all.
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Irrigation System
Because of limited irrigation water resources between monsoon rains, a system was devised to run water from a pond on our kind neighbor's property to ours in order to irrigate our coffee plantation. To do this we acquired a heavy-duty diesel powered pump along with about 600 meters of flexible pipe. Special irrigation pipes and smaller hoses fitted with sprinkler heads were run from these supply tanks to various parts of the estate to provide water between rains.
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Roadway
A new road is currently being graded that will allow us access to our new home. We've used granite foundation stones to ensure it stands up to the truck traffic that is a necessary part of construction. Once the building is complete it will be either tarred or blocked stone.
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photo gallery
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