Rammed Earth in Madhya Pradesh

These photos come from our correspondent in Bangalore about a project undertaken by Chitra Vishwanath.

Where's the compressor? Where's the fancy tamper?

So where's the skidsteer? The bobcat? The roto-tiller?

The wood chamfer strips look very detailed. I wonder how it looked on the finished wall?

But, but....where's the rebar?

Those are custom made pipe clamps. Apparently China forgot to make some for India.

Next time, I suggest a wheelbarrow and shovels.

He's thinking, "This sure is labor-intensive..."

Well, this will never catch on, there's no diesel being used here.

I could make a joke about formwork with built-in plumb bobs for the amusement of my devoted Cascadian readership, but I'm trying to restrain myself since I'm playing to a larger audience. Enjoy the restraint while you can, guys.

What is diesel going for these days? It' s not getting any cheaper to run all the fabulous machines that keep everything so affordable in North America.

Best dressed rammed earth builder since Bibo of Montreal.

I would be interested to know how that little wiggle in the plywood affected the finished wall. We put tape along the seam between the waler board and the form-ply to keep soil and stones from lodging there.

Now that's some natural building.

What happened?


I think initially they were using a slip form method but found that unsatisfactory.

I look forward to posting more about this project as it develops. So inspiring.


I'm American, HA HA HA.