Readers of the Development Alternatives Newsletter will recall a number of articles on alternative building materials such as micro-concrete roofing (MCR) tiles, compressed earth blocks, ferrocement elements and stone cement blocks.  Our authors have also discussed the production systems that make these materials and their techno-economic features.

Until a few years ago, however, our work did not have much to say about the sustainability of these technology packages.  It was something that worried us.  We knew that they were small in scale, employment generating and resulted in affordable building material but were not too sure of how they would fare if criteria for sustainability were applied to them when large scale dissemination took place.  For example, and MCR enterprise uses nine trucks of stone chip a year which amounts to virtually nothing now but can a region's resources supply enough stone chip when there are a few hundred enterprise?

Our work showed that the gap between demand and supply of durable building material was huge, especially amongst the poor.  This gap would have to be filled by augmenting supply and the real opportunity was in engineering a change in technology choice towards more affordable, energy efficient and environmentally sound material.  The MCR experience demonstrated economic viability of the production system, such that an entrepreneur could make money out of the process.  This could be a crucial factor in multiplying the reach of technology making visible impact on shelter conditions, influencing energy consumption and reducing CO­­₂ emission in the long run.

Examples of changing scenarios for walling and roofing demonstrated the impact that could be achieved through major technology changes by the introduction of new building materials and energy efficient technologies for existing materials.  The wide market acceptance of concrete blocks in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh was a clear example of a new building material whose penetration was on a very wide scale.  The changes in kiln operating practices in the Balaghat area of Madhya Pradesh, a fixed clay roofing tile centre, exemplified technology change in the production process.  Both these changes were analysed in the context of changing resource bases within the framework of achieving material and cost efficiencies.

The Shelter Group developed a theses that major technology changes can be initiated and implemented under conditions where resource stress exists and where alternative resources are available or can be made available.  Development Alternatives carried out a major study for assessing housing scenario, building systems and resource availability in the Bundelkhand region around Jhansi.  Census data here is a point to several revealing factors :

q	housing stock in the region has not improved significantly during the period 1981-1991;
q	wastelands have increased to 34% of the total land area resulting in major depletion of wood resources.
q	Exploitation of mineral resources particularly stone, is taking place on a very large scale with very little benefit to the region.
q	Massive waste is being generated through stone crushing operations.

In view of the existing situation, major inconsistencies in the demand-supply situation have arisen due to the market operations.  The region's resources of clay are severely depleted along with the energy resources.  This results in very poor quality burnt bricks being manufactured locally.  The major flow of burnt bricks takes place from Bhognipur, 180 kms away towards Kanpur.  The stone aggregate from 60 stone crushers operating in Jhansi, is fed back of Kanpur, using the same transport.  Stone crusher waste continues to be accumulated and disposed of around wastelands and state highways.  The absence of production units in the region results in the demand for roofing being satisfied either through poor quality clay tiles or stone slabs from Rajasthan 200 kms away.  Cumulatively this has resulted in retarded upgradation of shelter, non-availability of alternative building materials and resource exploitation on a massive scale.

Development Alternatives recognised the potential for developing a response strategy for the region which looks at resource regeneration, resource utilisation and introduction of technology options for augmenting the supply of building materials.  This objectives interfaces with the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation's objective of promoting initiatives that aim towards energy reduction while augmenting supply in the construction sector in India and forms the basis for a major Action Research programme undertaken by Development Alternatives with assistance from SDC and backstopping by the Swiss Centre for Development Co-operation in Technology and Management (SKAT).

Enterprise Development

The project strategy for augmenting supply of building materials is based primarily on creating large number of small and medium enterprises to produce and deliver these materials in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.  It draws upon a number of lessons from the MCR project such as

q	A successful technology package must result in : s a product that offers the buyer real value for money s a profitable business proposition for entrepreneur
q	Enterprise are the most effective means to make affordable technology available to people on a widespread scale
q	Understanding of growth patterns in marketing a technology package including support service requirements

We plan to develop economically viable technology packages which can be easily adopted by enterprises in the rural and peri-urban areas.  There will then be tested out through setting up of primary (model) enterprises.  To accelerate deployment of enterprises, easy access to various support facilities will be needed including.

q	Technology services
q	Market support
q	Access to finance.

Such services will be made available to all participating enterprises on a single window basis by Development Alternatives, which subsequently will establish local agencies to provide these service cost-effectively.

Creating Sustainable Production Systems

These technology packages will in turn be designed taking into account material choices that are governed by resource efficiency.  The factors determining sustainable production systems which will receive attention are :

q	Basic human needs and access to resources
q	Local availability of resources, potential for ensuring renewability.
q	Decentralised production systems (factors of scale, intensity of  capital, labour efficiency and material movement).
q	Resource efficiency and material intensity of production
q	Factors affecting demand and small market operations

The economic and environmental sustainability form the crux of IPM-PRE links that this project will seek to understand.  While economic accounting for a production system is a simple exercise of profit-loss statements, return on investment and break-even point, the overall measure of the performance of an enterprise needs to take into account the non-financial factors related to social aspects, natural resources, and environmental impacts like emissions etc. 

On one hand, the project aims to design a 'healthy' enterprise in environmental terms, that is, one which ensures efficient material and energy utlisation, low waste generation and promotes skill; on the other it is also concerned with the environmental health of the region.  The issue of environmental sustainability refers to the impact that large number of material production units will/may have on the carrying capacity of the resource base, ownership of resources, waste generation, energy availability and material movement in the region.

Thus sustainability has to be considered at both the region and the enterprise levels.

The technology choices made thus far are on the basis of material categories and according to resource and energy intensity employed in their manufacture.  Based on the availability of resources, the building material industry is categorized into biomass resources and industrial wastes and a matrix of technology choices for roofing and walling elements has been derived.

The objective of the Action Research programme are :

q	To fuel supply on the basis of existing demand using several low energy options like earth blocks and stone-cement blocks based on waste.
q	With increasing aspiration and the move to permanent materials like bricks, cement and steel, to look for efficient utilisation within each sector.

Hence a move to also improve efficiencies of brick kilns in the region as well as options like ferrocement and concrete block which rely on the utilisation of waste and least cement mixes.

Building materials selected for the Action Research programme are listed below :

1.	Compressed Earth Blocks
2.	Stonecrete Blocks
3.	Ferrocement
4.	Micro Concrete Roofing Tiles (continuing programme)
5.	Efficiency in brick kilns
6.	Improved Construction Practices

The concept of Action Research which will lead to a large scale dissemination of building material enterprises which are environmentally as well as financially sustainable as well as financially sustainable have been subsumed in the star illustrated below :

Concerns related to People, Resources and Environment form the basic parameters which need to be studied to understand and incorporate sustainability.  How are these parameters indicated and how can the indicators be measured?  What are the crucial key relationships between the parameters that indicate the health of the enterprise singularly and a cluster of them in a specified region?

As we at Development Alternatives struggle to find answers to these  critical questions, we invite the readers of this newsletter to contribute their ideas on the subject.  Development Alternatives is organising a 2 day workshop in the first week of September, 1996 with the aim to seek answers to the issues outlined above.  We invite your participation.  Write to us with a one page abstract of your opinion on the subject.

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