: Made with 50% Less Cement, This Couple’s House Remains Naturally Cool Without ACs #IndiaNEWS #Architecture It is safe to say that the values we grow up with stay with us for a lifetime. For Aurangabad-based

Made with 50% Less Cement, This Couple’s House Remains Naturally Cool Without ACs #IndiaNEWS #Architecture
It is safe to say that the values we grow up with stay with us for a lifetime. For Aurangabad-based Gargi Parmar, upcycling waste and leading a sustainable, zero-waste lifestyle came naturally.
My grandmother and mother always reused materials, giving a new twist to old items instead of discarding them. For example, my fathers pants would be transformed into cloth bags or pillow covers. This way, every item in our household had a longer life, reminisces the 36-year-old.
She was so inspired by the idea of upcycling that she even founded, Bano Batwo, a brand selling upcycled fashion accessories, stationery, and home decor fashioned from old t-shirts, glass, wood and other scrap materials.
Sustainable Home: All the beautiful window frames have been made from upcycled wood.
Naturally, when it came to building a home, Gargi and her Civil Engineer husband Kiran Bhale decided to go off the beaten path to construct a home that truly exuded their philosophy of eco-consciousness.
Now, the couple lives in a home that uses 50 per cent less cement than any conventional structure. This, they have achieved, by recycling mud and wood to make staircases and windows. By employing traditional and resource-saving building techniques, they have also been able to reduce their use of bricks by 30 per cent.
Theres ample light during the day which ensures they do not have to switch on lights. The ventilated house is cool even in the hottest months and has no ACs.
Additionally, different elements in the interiors have been a result of upcycling, giving the house a unique personality. Gargi shares with us how she embarked on the path of conscious living and how her home is a pure reflection of that.
Embracing Eco-conscious Principles For Their Sustainable Home
Building a Sustainable Home: Kiran and Gargi
As a student, Gargi became increasingly interested in fashion. She decided to pursue a Bachelors in Fashion designing from the School of Fashion Technology in Pune.
During one of her college projects, Gargi realised that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry. It was then that she decided not to contribute to the ever-growing waste.
So, after college, she worked with companies like Aura Herbal textiles in Ahmedabad that dealt in natural dyeing of fabrics. Between 2011 and 2014, she worked with Do U Speak Green in Mumbai, which uses natural fabrics derived from cotton to make t-shirts.
But in mid-2014, she came back home to embrace upcycling by making beautiful products from scraps. This is how Bano Batwo was born.
Sustainable Home: On the left, a basin fashioned out of an old foot-operated sewing machine and upcycled bottles used in the beautiful walls.