CONSTRUCTION work at HEAL Paradise Village will take another step forward following the arrival on site of equipment to create fly ash building blocks.
The fly ash brick-making machine
Paradise Village was planned as an eco-friendly project, making use of renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind power, sustainable systems, including irrigation and waste recycling, and the use of cost-effective materials and construction techniques.
An array of sustainable techniques and systems are incorporated within the site’s design proposals and the village will lead the way in construction, using recyclable materials and ‘green’ technologies for electricity, water, sewage and edible plantations.
Billions of clay bricks are produced globally every year, requiring not only costly mining, but baking in 2,000°F kilns that devour fuel and produce harmful pollutants.
In India, fly ash bricks are used as a more environmentally-friendly alternative for construction, helping to offset millions tonnes of fly ash produced every year in the country’s thermal power plants. Instead of causing potential contamination to land, groundwater and air, the post-industrial recycled waste is used as a component in the bricks, the fly ash being mixed with sand/stone dust, lime, gypsum and cement to form an efficient building material.
Trial batch of bricks at Paradise Village
The fly ash brick machine being used at the Paradise Village site creates the blocks by means of a compression process, producing a strong product with good insulation properties as well as environmental benefits. The bricks solidify under pressure, not extreme heat, so manufacturing them saves energy and costs significantly less than traditional clay bricks.
HEAL’s site manager Mastan has been overseeing the process and commented: “We started the fly ash brick production on July 20 and are satisfied with our trial batches of a few bricks.
“We will now press ahead with production while achieving HEAL’s target of saving on cost, protecting the environment and managing waste.”
In addition to recycling waste materials to create energy, the village will have extensive green cover and the planting of fruit-bearing and shady trees will increase the scope for self-sustainability.
Setting up the power generator on site
HEAL’s vision is for this centre to be a model of excellence in design, sustainability and management, which will care for the most needy children and prepare them for adult life with education, skills, an awareness of their responsibility to protect valuable resources, and a caring attitude to the less fortunate people in society.
HEAL is appealing to individuals and businesses to help speed this project along by sponsoring a classroom, a dormitory, a workshop or arts building, or by providing funds for tree planting, or eventually by sponsoring individual children.
Sponsors can even have rooms and buildings named after themselves, a business or a loved one, and trees can be planted in memory of a loved one, and a name plaque attached. If you would like to support the project, and help to improve the lives of thousands of Indian children in the future, please contact us at healsec@hotmail.co.uk.