The Architectural Review - 09.2019

Chulahstove

Sindh province

2018-

For years, women in

mendicant villages have

used floor-mounted stoves

which emit toxic smoke

causing eye and

respiratory diseases, and

are easily washed away in

floods. Dust, smoke and

bacteria contaminate food

on floor-mounted stoves, a

key cause of diarrhoea,

particularly among infants

and children. Today, nearly

50 , 000 chulahstoves

have been constructed by

villagers in Sindh province

to replace them. Trained

'barefoot entrepreneurs'

charge a nominal amount

to teach the inhabitants to

build the stoves, while

providing a hygienic area

for food preparation

fuelled by agricultural

waste such as twigs

and sawdust.

section

0 0.5m

I I

movements many tim es greater than t he
Kobe earthquake, which measured 7.5
on the Richter scale.
'Barefoot social architecture' is t he
philosophical basis of Lari's work:
architecture that treads lightly on the
p lanet. One example of a 'barefoot
enterprise' is Lari's design for an earthen,
fuel-efficient chulah (stove)- winning
a World Habitat award in 2018 - which
safeguards women's dignity, health and
income. Already close to 50,000 chulhas

• costing only Rsl ,OOO or £6 per unit, and
  no cost to the donor except the expenses
  incurred in t he tr aining of 'barefoot
  entrepren eurs' - have been built in Sindh
  and more are being made daily. Lari has also
  designed disaster-resistant platforms for
  water pumps as well as eco-toilets with
  earth walls and types of mud and bamboo
  fire-, earthquake-and flood-resistant
  shelter s - all to b e self-built by the
  communities themselves.
  Lari explains that her job is to 'create a

canvas on which communities can participate

as equal partners, making every structure

unique using their own innovations, and

not to give them a finite product'. Believing

in 'low cost' or 'no cost' alternative

architecture, the Heritage Foundation of

Pakistan , eo-founded and spearheaded by

Lari, provides t he infrastructure of basic

materials, know how and guidance through

largely non-literate, trained 'barefoot

entrepreneurs', while the finishing work is

undertaken by the community. 'There is a

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