Energy is acquired from natural methods, and alternate sewage treatments and water reuse systems are built in. “The idea is to lessen the environmental impact of buildings without sacrificing comfort or health,” she says.īy using only locally available materials, cost is minimized, and there is no ecological damage.

Shagun gives an example from the 2015 Nepal earthquake, when some of the only structures left standing where those made with the earthbag technique. “Natural buildings are made with a focus on durability and the use of minimally processed, plentiful or renewable resources, as well as those that, while recycled or salvaged, produce healthy living environments and maintain indoor air quality,” she explains. The idea, as Shagun puts it, is to learn to live life in accordance with nature and the local resources. Her workshops are fun and healthy – besides building, there is a bit of yoga and martial arts as well, and students can go down to a nearby stream to take a dip now and then. Shagun got her permaculture design certification from renowned teacher Rico Zook, and now teaches others. The farm, which is in Pangot, is part of her Geeli Mitti Foundation, which also works with women’s groups among many other social empowerment projects. So she quit her job in 2015, and a year later, launched Geeli Mitti, which translates to ‘wet earth’. After several years in the corporate world, she felt as if something was missing from her life. And it’s all the grand vision of a woman driven by a cause greater than herself.īorn in Patna to a businessman father and a social-worker mother, Shagun moved to Delhi in her teens, where she studied political science from Delhi University followed by an MBA in finance and marketing. Her students come from all over the world, and go back with vivid memories and a connectedness with the planet they’d never imagined. Shagun’s month-long courses are mostly sold out and the waiting list goes into many months. The techniques she demonstrates include the earthbag technique (which was developed to provide low-cost housing, and even lunar housing, using bags filled with earthen materials), and cob building (using hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw, and make homes in organic shapes).īesides many other techniques of making homes (adobe hobbit caves, bamboo lofts, anyone?), you can also do a permaculture design course, which is the “harmonious integration of environment and people”.Īnd people are lining up to learn. You don’t need a degree to do so: “One of the key concepts we focus on is to get over the societal myth that you need to be a trained architect or engineer to build your own house or that it is impractical and difficult to live responsibly,” assures Shagun.

Geeli mitti