Innovations in the construction of Cement Stabilized Rammed Earth dwellings under Bhuj earthquake

Abstract

Bhuj-2001, earthquake of magnitude 7.7 (Richter scale) occurred in Kutch region of India and devastated large number of buildings rendering millions of people homeless. It was a daunting task for the government to provide houses for the homeless in a short period time. Use of local materials such as soil was exploited to build thousands of houses. Hunnarshala foundation based at Bhuj (India) is a not-for-profit organization embarked upon construction of more than 3000 rammed earth houses in and around Kutch district of India. The paper presents the innovations developed and the methodology adopted to construct 3000cement stabilized rammed earth (CSRE) houses within a span of about two years.