 Green Building Technology Training Camp
Dear Friend,
We are happy to inform you that we are organising Three day workshop on the above subject on 09th Aug. to 11th Aug. 2009, at Rural Building Center, Anjaneyapuram (Kalluvilai village) Kanyakumari. The details are as follows:-
1. Syllabus : Based on the concept note above
2. Dates : 09th Aug to 11th Aug, 2009 (Sunday,Monday & Tuesday)
3. Venue : Rural Building Center, Anjanayepuram, Kalluvilai, Kanyakumari.
4. Target group : Engineers and Architects
5. Medium of instruction : Tamil/English
6. No. of participants : 20 nos.
7. Guide map : given below
In case of difficulty please contact reception, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari.
8. Methodology : (i) Classroom session
(ii) Demonstrations / Practical
(iii) Discussions
(iv) Audio visual – CDs
9.Trainers : The training Team Comprises faculty from Pune and Chennai
10. Course fees : (i) This is Residential Training Course. The Entire training, lodging and Board is free.
(ii) A Simple dormitory accommodation will be provided. However, Trainees will have
to pay nominal registration fees of Rs.200/-
11. Last date for
Registration : First cum First basis as the seats are limited. Application form stating educational qualification and experience as well as registration fees by way of DD/M.O should reach before 5th August,2009.
12. Course material : material kit will be provided.
13. Time of arrival : Participants should reach our TRC by 9 a.m. on 09th Aug,2009
14. Time of departure : Participants will be free to leave the place on 11th August at 4.00 p.m.
With best wishes,
(V.Ramakrishnan)
Concept and Syllabus
Concept Note : “Green Architecture”
Green architecture is an approach to building which has become more popular in the last 25 to 30 years. Also known as sustainable design, green architecture is a method of design that minimizes the impact of building on the environment. Once thought of as unconventional and nonstandard, both regulatory agencies and the public alike are quickly accepting green architecture as a socially responsible and logical means of construction.
 The beginnings of today's green revolution can be traced back to the environmental awareness of the 1960s and European design. New construction techniques have lead to the development of innovative materials and design concepts. Green buildings are designed, constructed and commissioned to ensure they are healthy for their occupants. Successfully designed green projects can involve an extensive array of factors, ranging from the resourceful use of materials, to careful consideration of function, climate, and location.
The concepts about green architecture can generally be organized into several areas of application. These areas include sustainability, materials, energy efficiency, land use, and waste reduction.
Green buildings are not only designed for present use, but consideration is also been given to future uses as well. An adaptable structure can be "recycled" many times over the course of its useful life. If specific technical issues prevent use of the building for a new function, then the materials used in its construction are designed to facilitate ease of recycling and reprocessing of materials.
Buildings consume a variety of materials in their construction. Green design reduces the dependence on resource intensive products and materials. Today, there are an increasing number of products available made from efficient, earth-friendly, or recycled materials. In a green building, consideration is also given to the construction process itself. Materials that minimize waste or can be recycled, help contribute to an efficient and environmentally sensitive construction process. 
Another important aspect of green architecture is the integration of energy efficient mechanical systems and conservation methods. Green buildings are designed to reduce or eliminate the dependence on fossil fuels. Additionally, green designs further help to minimize waste through the use of gray water recycling and other sustainable energy strategies. Grey water is conserved or saved to be recycled to water gardens.
Land use and building orientation also plays a critical role in green architecture. A green building is located to take advantage of its climate and surroundings. These conditions not only affect the efficiency of a building, but of the community and society as a whole. Planning for responsible land use addresses these issues through the consideration of climate, transportation, and the natural environment.
An amazing amount of waste is generated by the construction of a typical building. Green buildings are designed to eliminate waste by using modular systems of construction, recycled products, and efficient use of materials. The ideal green building would create no waste either during construction or use, so the impact on the environment and resources is minimized. Environmentally sensitive development at all levels housing, commercial and institutional appears to be a very promising approach to help achieve sustainability in these terms. Humanity shares a common need for affordable, healthy, durable, comfortable housing and workspaces designed and built to maintain or uplift the human condition. Unfortunately this does not yet frequently occur as a rule throughout the World.
Over the next 10 to 20 years, accelerated movement toward a more sustainable economy and infrastructure will be needed, to head off environmental problems such as global climate change, enlargement of the Ozone "hole," possible food-chain disruption and depletion of ocean fisheries, top-soil depletion and erosion, desertification, and ground water contamination.
Keeping the above points Architects and engineers have to play major role in reducing green house gases. Unfortunately many Engineers and architects do not understand the seriousness of the issues.
Following Topics will be covered
v Climate Changes and Carbon credits
v Embodied Energy, Operational Energy and Life Cycle Assessment.:
v Energy Audit and survey
v Calculating energy from the modal home.
v Eco-friendly construction practices.
v Renewable energy systems for efficient home.
v Roof water harvesting
v Waste water treatment
v Eco sanitation
v Solid waste management.
v Case studies and
v Field visit.
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ght the means to happiness. The Source through thunder spoke to them the syllable DA. 'Did you understand?' 'We understood,' the celestials said. 'You told us, "Be self-controlled (damyata)" 'Aum,' the Source said. 'You understood.' 
and link them intelligently in tune with the local ecological and economical context of the farmer, the external dependency of the farmer will reduce progressively over the years and his food security will increase. At the next level this shall empower the farming community to use and take care of the local common resources through coordinated people’s efforts. All it takes shall be patience, perseverance and suitable technologies which are eco-friendly, locally relevant and which are not capital and energy intensive. 
units, which in turn give their output to the livestock and the farm respectively. Azolla spilled into homestead vegetable garden and local physicians identified traditional herbs and herbal home gardens were established cutting down household medical expenses. This highly reduces the fertilizer cost of the farmer. The village which was once low on egg consumption is today not only self-sufficient but produces surplus eggs which are sold in the market. These changes essentially involved linking various subsystem of the farm. Each could have been highly unstable and hence short-lived in itself. But the interlinking of the subsystem through nodal points of alternative technological interventions helped stabilise the system. Thus Vivekananda Kendra ensured an expanding web of relations between the subsystems of a typical farm house. If all goes well then the web expands. 
tion were prepared by individual women and soon collective preparation was taken up by groups. VK-NARDEP provided labeled bottles and quality checking. The common service centre was upgraded into a agro-eco shop. Seminars on sustainable agricultural technologies are today being held at neighbouring villages. 
ophy as old as the Upanishads. The consumerist elite, the toiling farmers aiming at profit and the vested interests which the profit mongering created, all these three pursue an elusive happiness based on a reductionist idea of pleasure which in agricultural realm became an excessive fixation with yield alone. For this they destroy the web of life with chemical agriculture and poison the soil and food. Seldom they realise the wisdom that ‘what they do to the web of life they do to themselves.’ Ultimately they poison their own food chain. They go for cash crops and make themselves vulnerable to the push and pull of market forces that are not in their own control. But all that still impoverishes them and lands them in a vicious cycle. 
The book contains two parts. The Part-I has all the panels of the water section of Gramodaya park. The Part-II has eight chapters each dealing with important aspects of water harvesting. After dealing with the importance of rainwater harvesting, the book deals with: