DHARWAD: Five years ago, software engineer Suresh Babu and his wife decided to leave their plush jobs in Pune and undertake a journey which would take them to Dharwad, in search of some peace and quiet, away from the bustle and sounds of the city.Having served in the Indian Air Force and then worked in the United States, Babu had seen it all before deciding to call it quits in return for a quiet life in a rural setting. To help them achieve their goal, the couple has been toiling to build a ‘cob house’, a sight which is quite rarely observed in the region.
Cob houses are natural buildings made out of subsoil, water, fibrous organic material and sometimes lime. Having seen cob houses during his travels, Babu always wanted to live in one himself and the couple took it up as a challenge. Owners of agricultural land in Dharwad, they have managed to construct a house which measures around 700 sqft, with walls that are two feet thick. The house, for which they have spent `10 lakh till date, has a kitchen, a bathroom and a living room.
“Staying in metro cities with the pollution and the lifestyle exhausted us. We started dreaming of a life amidst nature,” Babu says. “My wife also worked with me and now both of us quit our jobs. We hardly got time while working and were leading mechanical lives. While earnings were great, all the luxury facilities we had did not satisfy us. Finally we bought this land and are managing with our savings and the income from the land,” he adds.
The couple doesn’t mind the financial crunch as well as the basic life sans luxury. “We are happy and leading a peaceful life in nature,” Babu said. The couple owns a 19.5 acre wide tract of land but have not tilled it for crops. Instead, the patch is covered with fruit trees.
Cob houses, though cheap in terms of material costs, are labour-intensive and not easy to build. Babu’s house has neem and borax leaves, turmeric, teak bark and other naturally available materials mixed in with the mud. The roof will be made from Bagayhullu (grass) which is local to Hospet. The house building blocks will also have 15% sand, wood and a few colour glass bottles.
“Many people think it is just another mud house but we are using medicated mud for construction,” Babu says. The construction, which began in 2017, was delayed for a while due to a shortage of expert labourers to work on the project.