After witnessing the way pollution impacted his son, Manish\u00a0Advani, a marketing professional, decided to collaborate with\u00a0Jayneel Trivedi, an architect, giving birth to a low cost house made of\u00a0tender coconut shells. The fact that coconut shells\u00a0are hard to compost gave Manish an idea to reuse them.<\/p>\n
Together, they drafted the concept of\u00a0low-cost eco-friendly housing using coconut shells, the prototype for which was accomplished with the\u00a0help of 20 students from Somaiya College in Mumbai. The process saw the students collect coconut shells and dry them for 18 days, post which they began assimilating the things together. Scrap metals and wood were used to build the frames while the coconut shells were cut into half to be stacked as walls and\u00a0reinforced with mud, coconut and bamboo mesh. The facade of the house can be used as vertical gardens, where food can be grown for the family.\u00a0Jayneel said, \u201cWe used the simple principle of air cavities in building the Coconut Houses. The natural cavity of the coconut shells when used on walls and roofs help in keeping the house naturally cool. The temperature drops by about 4-5 degrees and this eliminates the need for air coolers and air conditioners that consume a lot of water and energy.\u201d The cost for the prototype rounded out to\u00a0Rs 10,000. With this, the Coconut House initiative won\u00a0a bronze in the International Green Apple Awards\u00a0during a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, this June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After witnessing the way pollution impacted his son, Manish\u00a0Advani, a marketing professional, decided to collaborate with\u00a0Jayneel Trivedi, an architect, giving birth to a low cost house made of\u00a0tender coconut shells. The fact that coconut shells\u00a0are hard to compost gave Manish an idea to reuse them. Together, they drafted the concept of\u00a0low-cost eco-friendly housing using coconut … <\/p>\n