Aman Setu's school
building has been made from waste material; the garbage was obtained from the site itself, and from junk
dealers nearby.
i. Mud bags were used instead of brick,
ii. Barbed wires were used instead of cement (to hold the mud bags together),
iii.Papier mache and buttermilk were use to plaster the walls,
iv.Cottage cheese and egg white were used as adhesives,
v. Advertisement holdings were used to waterproof the roof.
The inspiration for this (radically) new form of architecture was based upon an old idea - military bunkers constructed as far back as the First World War! The motivation, of course, was a drastic reduction in the construction costs. It cost about 2.2 lakhs to construct the school
building (that is, less than half the cost). Building one classroom took about forty days; and most of the money was spent on labour costs alone.
Students (of the school) were encouraged to participate in planning the school building. They designed - and drew sketches - of the new classrooms. Constructing the school building from readily available waste products proved to be a lesson in conservation for them. The school building is environmentally friendly as well, as it easily blends into the background of nature.
Chintamani - the science lab - is a discarded bus brought from the municipal corporation for seventy thousand ! Besides the science lab, the school also operates a farm where the children are taught to grow vegetables (
organically) and to even prepare their own meals. Maths and Science are taught to the children through activity and participation, instead of by rote, so that they can experience first-hand what education is all about.
gurukul, where learning was a way of life; and students and teachers openly discussed what had been taught and what had been imbibed.>