This house in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra was built on a budget, 1,100 square feet, using laterite stone quarried within 10 kilometres of the site, Mangalore clay roof tiles, teak wood joinery and clearstory windows along the eastern wall that pull morning light through the entire living area. Cross ventilation through high ceilings and large openings means no mechanical cooling. Not a single tree on the site was cut during construction.
This is not an expensive house. It is a disciplined one.
The crude indigenous designs we have in our communities do not need to be abandoned. They need effort. When slight effort is put into laterite, into fired brick, into rammed earth, when someone takes the time to lay it properly, orient the building correctly, and open it to the right wind, the result stops looking crude and starts looking like this. The people around us cannot see how good our materials are because we have never shown them what those materials look like when they are taken seriously.
Building kilns is not a fantasy. We have the clay. We have the land. We just have not decided it matters enough yet.
There is no pride in crudeness and there is no excuse for mediocrity when the solution is already in the ground.
Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India | Articulated Design Initiative | Photography: Vaibhav Kapadi
Young men,
Whenever you meet an old fool, remember that he was once a young fool. And whenever you meet a wise old man, you are meeting someone who confronted his foolishness years, perhaps decades, before.
So look into the mirror of Scripture. See where you are foolish and confront it today. The years pass more easily than you think. If you will not deal with your folly now, time will only harden it. But if you face it honestly and repent of it, the years can turn a foolish young man into a wise old one.
India: Three Baptist pastors were ambushed and assassinated yesterday in Manipur by unknown assailants.
Rev. Vumthang Sitlhou, Rev. Kaigoulun Lhouvum and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou were returning home after a Baptist assembly on May 12 when the evil unfolded.
Five other religious workers were also injured.
The Christian Emergency Alliance condemns this atrocious crime – those responsible must be brought to justice.
Pray that the injured would be healed and the families of the deceased comforted by the Spirit.
May our loving Father draw goodness out of this dark act.
Pray for the Christians of Manipur.
Research data from 160,000 adults in 31 countries concludes that a sizeable home library gave teens skills equivalent to university graduates.
Build a home library.
The only reason I do not allow my children to play in the middle of the highway is the cars speeding at 70 MPH. Otherwise, the highway is open as a playground.
It’s a rude awakening when you realise a random Twitter schizo has spent more hours studying nutrition, biochemistry and molecular biology in the last week than your primary care physician did during their entire time in med school. It must really suck to be a normie.