The Kaule Prototype

HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS 2017

The Prototype and the construction team from the sister villages of Kaule and Bhangeri

The Kaule Prototype is an attempt at earthquake reconstruction in remote Nepal using traditional materials and local skills and talents available within the affected the community using minimal resources.

More details can be found in the blog here: http://thekauleprototype.blogspot.com/

In the first phase of the reconstruction project, a prototype house has been designed and constructed by training the community in traditional construction practices that are seismically sound, and using materials like stone, bamboo and mud that are locally available.

The prototype received formal approval by experts appointed by the Reconstruction Committee, Department of Urban Development and Construction (DUDBC), Government of Nepal, and was published in their ‘Design Catalogue for Reconstruction of Earthquake Resistant Houses, Volume II’.

Subsequently, the Kaule Prototype has been awarded the HUDCO Design Awards 2017 under the category ‘Earthquake Resistant Self Help Housing’.

Hand tools used in construction by local craftspersons and workers

Mud plaster panels – sample being prepared

Stone in lower and Bamboo frame in upper floors

Bamboo training in progres

Use of special coloured mud from around the site – no pigment was used

House damaged in the Earthquake

A bamboo panel training module in progress

Mud plaster training module

A bamboo treatment training in progress