KarunaNews Story

Soumya Jain’s three bedroom apartment near New Delhi, India, is now part of a growing urban movement of middle-class high-rises adopting time-tested, low-energy construction methods. Its walls are coated with mud plaster instead of cement — an ancient technique reimagined for modern living to keep spaces naturally cool without air-conditioning that keeps their flat about nine degrees cooler than the outside heat. Jain’s inspiration came from Van Bhoj, a mud-house in Faridabad built in the 1990s using traditional techniques to unite mud plaster, sal wood, bamboo and lime that remains 18°F to 27°F cooler than outside temperatures. When Ecoplore, a climate-conscious travel company preserving that vision, launched its construction wing this year, they got over 1,000 queries within months, not just from all over India but from Sri Lanka, Egypt, South America, the Middle East and even Europe. This global interest reflects exactly what Jain discovered in her own home: Sustainable living has moved from niche experiment to mainstream necessity.