TARA Nirman Kendra, Orchha
- a habitat technology showcase

Praveen Saxena                  psaxena@devalt.org

TARA Nirman Kendra (TNK), Orchha is a building centre promoted jointly by Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and Development Alternatives, an international non-governmental organization. Located in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, it is a part of TARAgram, the appropriate technology centre of Development Alternatives for Bundelkhand region. A context driven initiative to serve as a laboratory for large-scale dissemination of sustainable building technologies, TNK embodies the principles of environmental concerns with user concerns at the household and community levels while ensuring economic viability and a business like approach.

TNK is based on the principles of sustainable building material production and delivery i.e.
· Building Material production system based on local resources, thus creating environmental consciousness and improving the local building economy
· Sustainable livelihoods for economically viable building material production by imparting training in the production and implementation of these building technologies.
· Strengthening of Artisan and Mason guilds.
· Market development and pilot marketing to set up enterprise based activities for building materials leading to large scale delivery of sustainable building technologies.

Primarily focusing upon 29 villages in the vicinity of TARAgram Orchha and two districts of Jhansi and Tikamgarh, we have increased our area of operation to about a 100 km radius of TARAgram, encompassing Datia, Dabra, Niwari and Gwalior district the commercial business hub in this region. Financially, within seven years of its existence we are striving for a turnover of one crore rupees per year and this building centre is now being recognized as the foremost building centre in India.

TNK’s revenue flows from the following sources or lines of Business:

·

 Product Sales and Allied Services:
  TNK undertakes sale of products such as MCR tiles, FC Channels for roofing, VSBK bricks, solid concrete blocks for walling, paving blocks for flooring etc. and their installation. Private and government institutes constitute the major clientele for this line of business. Kiddy’s Corner School and Little Angel School, Gwalior, Bundelkhand University Jhansi, Hotel Prakash Regency, Jhansi, Cathedral College Jhansi, India Grass and Fodder Research Institute and National Research Centre for Agro forestry, Jhansi etc are some of the notable Institutional Clients to whom TNK has been providing MCR Roofing, Paving blocks or Ferro cement Channel roofing commercially. TNK also undertakes roofing works for residential buildings in and around Jhansi.
 

·

Turnkey Building Construction
  TNK also undertakes construction projects and delivers a complete building based on alternatives materials such as MCR tiles, Ferro cement roofing channels, Concrete blocks etc and innovative and cost-effective building systems like brick masonry in Rat trap bond, RCC Filler Slab, Domes, Vaults, Jack Arch and arched openings etc. The focused product of TNK under this line of Business is " Institutional buildings" and Government and private institutional clients. Nagar Panchayat Orchha, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, State Government of Madhya Pradesh, India Grass and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi etc. are some of the main clients.
 

·

Technical Services
  TNK has been providing technical services such as Architectural design, Technology transfer, Project management to a variety of clients viz. NGOs , Private institutions, District Rural Development Agency etc. TNK has also offered its services for housing projects undertaken by NGOs for Reconstruction and rehabilitation works in Orissa and Gujarat.
 

·

Training
 

TNK is highly committed to conduct regular training programmes on a wide range of topics in building materials. The most common programmes are introduction to cement based alternative building technologies, production and application of alternative walling and roofing materials, advanced level training on specific technology like Ferro cement roofing channels. The training programmes are designed to cater to the needs of diverse under groups ranging from masons, artisans, technicians, civil supervisors, entrepreneurs, contractors, engineers and architects etc. also to project/programme coordinators in NGOs, District level Government etc., TNK also conducts customized training programmes for NGOs and institutions at their field location.

In the process of generating livelihoods, TNK merges the "people resource concerns" with the thirst to do high quality research applicable at the grassroots. It is about not compromising on quality and increasing the productivity of all our resources: human as well as material; about down to earth solutions using premium science and technology, about synergistic approaches of converting latent needs into demand.  q


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