Date:22/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/22/stories/2008042251540300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Village women take up mud blocks production

A. V. Ragunathan

— Photo: :C. Venkatachalapathy

A DIFFICULT JOB: A group of women engaged in making mud block bricks at Kottakuppam

VILLUPURAM: A group of women at Kottakuppam near here is assiduously pursuing a career in making mud block bricks, mindless of the hard manual labour involved.

They are living on the fringes of the tsunami-affected Kottakuppam coastal village. Though it involves simple technology, they have to exert themselves in operating the machinery and therefore, the members are taking turns at the machinery.

The group has formed the Alli Compressed Mud Brick Production Unit and is churning out the mud blocks of various sizes and shapes such as rectangular, interlocking and U-blocks.

E.Uma, president of the unit, told The Hindu that the members were trained in making of mud blocks by the Auroville Building Centre. The mixture had to be prepared in the following proportions: 200 litres of finely sieved red soil and 10 kg of cement.

She said that after the mixture was prepared in a slightly moisturised condition, it was put into the cast of the required size in the machinery. A long handle or lever attached to the machinery had to be pressed downward and this required stamina.

If the lever were pulled down at the full speed, it would exert three-tonne pressure on the mixture thus forming the highly compressed mud blocks. Later, these mud blocks were put to curing process — water was being sprinkled on the blocks till they firmed up.

Ms. Uma said the blocks would not flake nor would they dissolve in water. However, there was some hesitation on the part of the builders to go for the mud blocks because there were apprehensive about their durability. She saw it only as the passing phenomenon and once they are convinced of the strength and utility of such blocks, the market would increase manifold.

Moreover, cost-wise these blocks enjoyed an advantage over the conventional bricks baked in the kilns. Ms. Uma further said the members would not mind the manual work because they had consciously chosen the career.

She said whenever they got orders to be executed within a short time, the group found it difficult to meet the requirements. She observed that such shortcomings could be overcome by installing mechanised units that would reduce the drudgery and increase production.