JOIN USJoy of green living
It’s been 15 years since rain water harvesting expert A R Shivakumar built his eco-friendly home ‘Sourabha’ in Vijayanagar, Bangalore. He lives in this beautiful home with his wife and two children.
Is this your dream home?
Living in a space where you derive and fulfill your needs from nature has always been an aspiration. I am never stressed or worried about water or electricity problems.
My home is built in such a way that I am blessed with abundant water; even sunlight (which he says is extremely important in Bangalore, especially during the monsoon).
I have a rain water harvesting system at home which collects more than 2 lakh litres of rain water annually. It is more than what I need. Sourabha has no Corporation or BWSSB water connection.
Yet, clean and safe water is available 24 hours; 365 days throughout the year.
It’s such a stark difference compared to my childhood which I spent growing up in a village called Ammanaghatta in Tumkur district of Karnataka.
My two sisters and I would wake up 5.30 in the morning every day to fill pots with water from the village well. At that time it didn’t feel like a chore; just a few pots of water would suffice. But after I got married in 1989, my wife wanted us to have a home of our own.
We stayed at a rented accommodation in Bangalore but the experience was anything but pleasant.
I spent seven years in that house spending a lot of money on electricity (innumerable power cuts in Bangalore notwithstanding), facing irregular water supply and a lot of heat during summers and cold during winters.
Therefore, I started building my own home and moved into Sourabha in 1995.
It is a dream home which is self-sufficient; a place where I need not depend on anything and anyone for my daily needs, but nature.
How was the house you grew up in?
That time seems so surreal. My parents, two sisters, grandmother and me lived in small house with tiled roofs, a living room and kitchen. I would walk or cycle six kms everyday to school and help my mother with household chores. As a child I never imagined that I would have my own home one day, but always dreamt to be live life as an independent individual. I guess Sourabha is just a manifestation of the same.
You designed Sourabha yourself?
Concepts were mine of course. I did hire a group of architects for the job but had everything planned out — rainwater harvesting system, groundwater recharge barrel, solar energy panels on the roof that help in providing hot water for bathrooms and also ensuring that there is ample sunlight in the kitchen to facilitate the use of a solar cooker.
All these innovations were discussed with architects and budget constraints shared. It was this collaboration that helped me build this green home.
The house is eco friendly; was it economical too?
Very much. Take for example the bricks used — I used high quality bricks, which required no plastering and painting on the outer walls of the house. Only the western facade of the house was painted and plastered in order to reflect heat. My personal involvement while building the house and meticulous planning helped me save 30 to 40 per cent of the construction costs.
I feel such an approach is very much needed you build your own home once in a lifetime. Also, I spend very less on electricity. We hardly use fans at home, use solar energy to heat water, water is recycled and reused like the discarded from the washing machine is used to flush toilets — everything costs less and therefore our lifestyle helps us save the environment and some money!
Maintaining the house takes up a lot of time?
It does take some extra effort. Like we don’t use the municipal garbage bins. Instead we recycle organic waste generated from home into organic manure, need to take care of plants, maintain the water harvesting system among others.
But the advantages completely outweigh the disadvantages. To top it all, as we don’t have curtains at home — considering we have ample green covering outside windows — we don’t have to take the pains of washing them regularly!
You entertain people often?
I love people coming over. Showing them around the house is such a joy. What makes me even happier is when friends and relatives are inspired by our way of living and adopt a few simple changes in their homes too.
For instance I have painted my roof white as it reflects heat during summer and as a result, the heat that is generated from the roof into the house comes down from 62 per cent to a mere 17 per cent.
Such a simple and inexpensive thing can do wonders and many of my friends have emulated the same.
It makes me proud when people appreciate these innovations.
Which part of this house is the most special?
I love being on the roof and my garage. My wife always jokes about it and says that I hardly visit them as I spend most of my time conducting my research in the garage — it’s my cocoon.
You love being in Bangalore?
It’s where I belong. The city is tailor-made for things like rain water harvesting and groundwater recharge.
Moreover the weather here is conducive for breeding earthworms to decompose garbage. Not many cities give you such privileges including regular rains throughout the year.
Why not utilise this for a better self-sustained living? I just hope I inspire people to embrace green living with my example.
Five favourites
*Water bodies and aquatic life around the house.
* Plants and trees ensure a pleasant lifestyle.
* Natural light that I welcome into my home.
* My garage where I conduct my research.
* A jeep that I bought 25 years ago and two bicycles that I use occasionally to commute in and around the area.