Seed Bank

As a social organization, we always needed a space to call our own. Somewhere we could host our community meetings, host workshops, where we could work freely, and where our various community activities could be ideated and worked upon. At the same time, the space would play home to our community interns. We also expected the space to become an exhibition of the construction techniques we worked with. The place would host structures made of wattle and daub, lime plasters, cob, brickwork, bamboo work, woodwork, and various other mud techniques.

Nothing suited better than Pratik Dhanmer's old wattle and daub house, which Design Jatra took over and is now converting into a “Prayogshala” (Experiment house). The idea was to retain the timber frame of the structure and replace the infill walls with various techniques and materials. The space itself functions like a large community space, with just an external envelope.

The space is fully built by volunteers and through workshops, adhering to the experimental nature of the building. Many small interventions have made this space a repository of techniques and more importantly, of memories.