Lying on the banks of the River Narmada, 90 kilometres from Indore in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is the town of Maheshwar, old capital of the Holkar kingdom. Mentioned in both, the Ramayana and Mahabharatha, the town rose to its peak during the peaceful reign of Maharani Ahiliyabai Holkar in the 18th century.
The fort which houses the palace and other important buildings of the community, opens out on to what are arguably the most beautiful sandstone ghats in the whole country.
This place is home to the famous handloom "Maheshwari" sari with its distinctive design and silk/cotton blend. The Kaya Kalp project was commissioned by Rehwa Society, a highly successful co-operative, marketing local products at exhibitions throughout the country.
When Rehwa Society began with a single weaver about two decades ago, there were just a few looms in the entire town. Today there are close to a thousand of them operating in and around Maheshwar. Kaya Kalp was the brainchild of Sally and Richard Holkar who felt it was time to repeat the Rehwa success story in other weaving communities in Madhya Pradesh, where the local skills are being lost due to lack of exposure.
Careful attention has been paid to the materials used in construction. The consumption of environmentally expensive materials has been minimised. There is no reinforced cement concrete anywhere in the building. The load-bearing structure is built from locally made burnt brick, set in a cement and lime mortar.
The roof structure has steel trusses, with corrugated galvanised iron sheets bolted on top and clad with interlocking half-round terracotta country tiles. Together they create an insulating air-gap that keeps the rooms cool, even in the 46° Celsius (115° Fahrenheit) summers. The combination also prevents the slightest leakage, which could potentially ruin many days of work stretched on a loom.
ancient temple ruin just in front of it.
Steel trusses below the iron roofing sheets are very durable and can be recycled at the end of a building's life span. For this reason, they are environmentally less taxing than alternatives such as Bamboo which may have to be replaced every eight or ten years. I am happy to say that, though the Maheshwari people were initially sceptical about the efficacy of this system, it has now become their "industry standard".
Kaya Kalp covers a total area of 7500 square feet (700 square metres) and has been built at a cost of just Rs. 105 per square foot (then $ 3.25/sft or $ 35/sqm) . These figures surprised everybody because no inferior materials or processes were used. It must be mentioned though, that local labour is very cheap and contributed greatly to the overall lowering of costs. Even so, other projects in Maheshwar have, for one reason or another, cost up to three times as much.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Poonamchand (affectionately known throughout Maheshwar, simply as "Ba"). He is among the last of a dying breed of master-builders. Without the knowledge and experience of this young septuagenarian, Kaya Kalp may never have turned out as it was intended. I would also like to acknowledge the valuable input given by Architect Sanjay Prakash at the initial stages.
