THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Damaged furniture, broken utensils, drenched documents and huge heaps of thick mud: This was all that were left behind by the deluge at several places. And the most strenuous task was removing the lumps of mud that had accumulated in the houses and compounds.
At a time when thousands of families are busy cleaning their houses to put life back on track, Clayfingers Pottery, a Thrissur-based art studio, is lending a helping hand. The firm offers to collect the clay to make bricks.“Tonnit Thomas, a friend of ours, had called up to enquire whether we would want the mud accumulated in their house, which weighed approximately 5 tonnes, to be used for making artefacts,” said Suresh Subramanian of the Clayfingers Pottery. This prompted the studio to collect it and much more from houses elsewhere.They plan to make bricks from mud, sand and water mixed with binding materials like rice husks or straw.
Drive to collect mud
“It’s a challenge. It can all be converted into bricks and help in reconstruction,” said Suresh Subramanian of Clayfingers. The firm has already begun efforts to collect clay and mud from Pathanamthitta. It wants to extend the drive to other parts of the state once they get a green signal from the government. “It’s a good initiative by the firm. What makes the bricks suitable to be used in making houses is the binding property of the bricks. After testing, the mud can be converted into bricks,” said M C Dathan, scientific adviser to the CM. The studio also plans to launch a movement to build sustainable houses for victims.