𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Over the past week, the Tarayana Foundation hosted the Karuna Foundation team, led by Mr. Eric Lemelson (President), Ms. Lindsay Skog (Executive Director), and board members. Their visit took them through our prototype house construction site in Gomche, which the Karuna Foundation funds, and springshed management intervention, Dogar Gewog at Paro.

The team witnessed 15 types of bricks made from soil, hempcrete, cement and sand using ash and jaggery. Hempcrete blocks are made in partnership with the ReBuilt Bhutan Project, funded by Bauhaus Earth and based in Berlin.

At the Bhutan TSHAR Institute, the team explored the prototype house construction and attended an insightful presentation on Bhutan TSHAR’s role in leading the country’s bamboo sector development. Tarayana’s volunteer Architect, Mr. Matej Vacek further detailed the prototype designs for Paro and Bhutan TSHAR, leading to a rich discussion on sustainable construction methodologies.

The Karuna Foundation team showed immense enthusiasm for bamboo as a sustainable building material, highlighting its potential in design improvement, technology acquisition, and livelihood projects. They have assured us of their continued support and plan to return once prototype constructions are completed!