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Habitat

The Habitat program aims at promoting well-established alternative building techniques at field level, which are energy conserving, cost effective and employment generating as well. It recognizes that the first step is to find acceptance of these technologies among the people. This has been attempted by setting numerous examples, which serve as demonstration centers.

The habitat program of CART is implemented by two subprograms, namely, roofing systems and wall building .

Roofing Systems
They experiment with various alternatives to conventional permanent roofing such as Geodesic domes, arches and vaults. Domes with Ferrocement cladding utilize much less material and achieve uniform distribution of load further economizing material usage. Its foundation therefore is nominal and there is a significant reduction in cost. Masonry Domes completely do away with structural support during and after construction and are a form of "Earth Roofing". It can be constructed with simple skills and minimal use of steel. Arches and vaults are the most economic way to span openings.

Micro concrete tiles for roofing is an effective alternative to burnt clay tiles. Apart from economy it promotes local production and employment. Whereas, Conical tile arch roofing uses conical burnt clay "tiles" made into a vault which is plastered from outside. This acts as a permanent roof and reduces the necessity of support structures.

Wall Building
This subprogram explores the use of "mud" as a viable building material. This has been undertaken in the form of Stabilized Mud Blocks, which are an alternative to "burnt bricks" and are therefore far less energy intensive. The production, moreover, could be potential employment for many. They can be plastered with Stabilized Mud Mortar the use of which has proved to be more economical and pliable.

They also experiment with Puzzolana Cement which is a combination of cementaceous, materials like pulverized clay and paddy husks, which has been tried out with encouraging results.