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voice urging us to build that homey shuttering that holds the surrounding
shelter from scratch again. clay particles in place and thus
The vision is crystal clear----- a prevents undesirable settlement of the
shaded threshold space for an land under the weight of the house.
evening, beyond which will be a living A strong house needs a strong
room with an attached kitchen and a foundation. For the foundation, first,
bedroom. To start with, we will first you will scoop out the soil along the
chalk out this plan on a suitable lines through which all the walls will
position of our site----- only a rough be erected. It will be 75 centimetres
outline. Then on with the greater deep, 40 centimetres wide. This pit
problems. will be lined with locally available
The biggest danger to a mud house is impervious stones. The crevices
water. Your experience tells you how between the stones will be filled with
essential it is to prevent rainwater gravel. This stone foundation will
from accumulating around the house. extend up to 60 centimetres above the
Accumulated water will seep into ground level to form the plinth. The
deeper layers of the soil and on drier plinth will further protect the house
days, rise through the capillary pores in times of a flood.
of the walls causing an incurable The land enclosed by the foundation
dampness issue. Hence, building a has to be rammed repeatedly to
moat around the house to drain out provide a compact base for the house
the rainwater seems justified. to sit on. On either side of the
At approximately 50 centimetres from foundation, two rows of stones will
the outline of your house, we will be placed on the ground up to 60
map out the outline of the moat. The centimetres high. The inner hollow
outline will go all around the house space between these stoned
and then be connected to the nearest barricades will be filled with gravel.
drain or a distant point from the site. The stones and gravel act as a sieve
The moat will be about 45 that will enable the water to drain out
centimetres wide, 60 centimetres without affecting the house.
deep. The soil will be dug out With the plinth made, it is time to
maintaining a constant slope for the prepare the mud for the walls. Oh,
smooth flow of water towards the what fun, what joy this task brings!
outlet. But first, it is essential to get the right
We know an open trench like this will kind of clay. The topsoil is not fit for
look visibly ugly. Might be as well fill the purpose as it contains high
it up with rubble or some decorative organic matter and moisture. The
stones. This moat not only forms an most fitting clay for the purpose will
outlet for excess water but also be found after digging to a depth of
protects the soil under the house-to- nearly 50 centimetres. In this process,
be-built from an uneven settlement. the topsoil gets eliminated and what
The rubble acts as a vertical remains is clayey sand. From this
depth of 50 centimetres, the soil
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