Geeli Mitti Shapes Spaces with Mud and Magic

Challenging societal norms, Shagun Singh created Geeli Mitti to showcase the power of natural building materials — a guide to help designers break free from the rigid, rectangular blueprints of modern architecture. Aishwarya Kulkarni finds out more about this inspiring sustainable practice.

One of the most enchanting houses I have seen is the Hobbit’s house in the movie ‘The Lord of the Rings’. As a child, it seemed like pure magic, almost whimsical, to see structures that didn’t resemble the rectangular spaces around me. The work of Geeli Mitti, nestled in the verdant jungles of Uttarakhand, brings this childhood fantasy to life. Challenging societal norms, Shagun Singh created Geeli Mitti to showcase the power of natural building materials—a guide to help designers break free from the rigid, rectangular blueprints of modern architecture. Their work is a testament to the idea that building construction techniques can be a gateway to boundless creativity, transforming dreams into reality rather than confining our imagination.

In a conversation with the Founder, Shagun Singh, we try to understand the campus as an ecosystem of sustainable practices. Nestled in the dense jungles around Nainital, Uttarakhand, India, Geeli Mitti offers a sanctuary for travellers, designers, and anyone on a journey toward sustainable living. The campus boasts six unique living spaces, each built during workshops that brought together designers, architects, and individuals passionate about building from across the globe. Beyond hosting like-minded people, Geeli Mitti is a hub for education and hands-on training in ecological habitat design including natural building, energy and fuel, water and waste management, permaculture, and art and craft preservation.

SCALE: What is the story behind the inception of Geeli Mitti?

Shagun: The journey of Geeli Mitti began unexpectedly and organically. It wasn’t a preconceived goal but rather the evolution of a personal journey. After spending over a decade in the corporate sector, my lifestyle gradually started shifting towards sustainability. Composting, growing my vegetables, and rainwater harvesting became integral parts of my life. Eventually, I left the corporate world without a concrete plan for Geeli Mitti, initially focusing on farming rather than natural building. I began by engaging in various courses and collaborating with farmers across India to understand sustainable agriculture better.

I believe in the philosophy: “you are what you eat,” which encompasses not just food but thoughts and energy as well. As I delved deeper into this lifestyle, I realized many people shared a desire to live in natural buildings, even if they wouldn’t admit it due to societal conditioning. So Geeli Mitti started not as a movement but as a personal endeavour. However, it quickly gained traction as people from all over the world joined in, wanting to be a part of a movement it was slowly becoming.

In the initial years, I found it difficult even to find research and books relevant to natural building construction techniques in India specifically for different terrains. Thus, Geeli Mitti has evolved into a multifaceted organization with various verticals, many of which extend beyond natural building.

The ‘Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Living and Habitat Development’ in Nainital serves as a living museum for sustainable lifestyles. It provides practical solutions for sustainable living, from building techniques to waste management and food production.

The Geeli Mitti campus showcases diverse vernacular and natural architectural techniques, making it a resource/case study for anyone interested in sustainable building and living, regardless of their current lifestyle. The construction techniques one can experience include cob, earthbag, dry stone masonry, stone with lime and with clay, bamboo, wattle and daub, timber-framing, adobe, and others coming up with rammed earth, hempcrete, strawbale. Roofing, flooring, and plastering techniques using ecological natural materials are all over the campus. Multiple working examples of greywater and blackwater management systems are also installed.

SCALE: How did you conduct workshops in natural buildings without a formal training in the field? Do you consider yourself a self-taught architect?

Shagun: I firmly believe that one can build effectively without formal architectural training. The knowledge of building is inherent in every living creature, including humans. Just as a seed knows how to grow, a bird knows how to build a nest, humans are born with the wisdom of creating shelters. This innate wisdom, coupled with a passion for architecture, drove me to explore traditional building techniques. When my journey outside of corporate life began, I immersed myself in understanding vernacular architecture better by reading, watching videos, and visiting structures, despite it not being my career. I have always had a knack for understanding the physics behind a building, and the more I learned about it, my vision and determination to build a sustainable house grew.

Historically, significant architectural wonders were built without formal architects. Post-industrialisation, the rise of capitalism, and manufactured products necessitated the creation of architecture colleges to train people to use these products. This shift transformed societies from self-reliant builders to workers dependent on manufactured materials. At Geeli Mitti, we aim to reclaim this lost wisdom and self-sufficiency.

SCALE: Could you elaborate on some of the structures on Geeli Mitti Campus?

Shagun: GaadiGhar as a structure can be seen while walking up to the Geeli Mitti CoE campus. Its location was strategically chosen on a flood-damaged site. Instead of flattening the land, we integrated the building with the contours, demonstrating how site management can be done sustainably. As the name suggests, ‘Gaadi’ means car, and ‘Ghar’ means house, and the entrance to the structure is actually through a car on the upper level! This adds a playful touch to the house while respecting the natural terrain.

The cob construction of Gaadighar, with load-bearing walls, challenges the notion that only framed structures are stable. This structure was built in 45 days, a pioneering effort at the time, involving participants from around the world.

The building incorporates various sustainable features like a living roof, dry stone masonry foundation, cob walls with pine needles for straw, cordwood flooring, and unique plastering techniques.

Tokri Ghonsla, built using a technique we call “Wattle-and-What,” showcases the adaptability of vernacular building methods. This collaboration with a French sculptor resulted in a structure resembling an inverted basket, with a split bamboo wattle framework and an undulating living roof overhang. The earthen floor and unique plaster textures demonstrate the durability of clay in high-moisture areas like the washrooms.

Tokri Ghonsla proves that with careful design, natural materials can be used effectively even in challenging conditions.

Jod-Tod Qila extends beyond its architectural character and symbolises the importance of learning from failure for us. This structure, comprising two large domes, was an experimental project during the COVID-19 pandemic in a workshop with participants worldwide.

We were subconsciously aware that the initial structure wouldn’t be able to take the load of mud on the roof, but we persisted due to a lack of resources during the lockdown.

As the dome fell to the ground, we continued to adapt and innovate and created a stronger roof using a technique called ‘ferro-clay.’

(As opposed to the commonly known ‘ferro-cement’). This helped us learn from our mistakes, and make innovations on the way!

Pushtaini Golghar is my home, an earthbag structure, and the first one we built in 2016 at the campus as part of a workshop. This circular home features an adjoining kitchen and shower. The walls are made of earthbags with a dry stone foundation and a stone plinth with mud mortar.

It has a reciprocal roof frame topped with grass thatching. The plastering involves three coats using traditional ‘Lipayi’ techniques. The flooring is crafted from recycled pinewood. With a 20-foot diameter, the open floor plan allows for movable furniture, providing ample space for living and storage.

Adda is our beloved dormitory, built by volunteers for workshop attendees. It features a five-level structure made of split bamboo, plastered with clay, lime, and cow dung. The levels include storage, machaans for 22 people, a storage hall called ‘Tehkhana,’ the Darbaar for classroom training, and the Atariya attic dormitory.

Every part of Adda was built by us, with no carpenters or masons, embodying our communal spirit. We often joke that the peace it provides is synonymous with “maika” (a bride’s home before her marriage which provides a safe and comforting place). It is a place of relaxation and inspiration, open to anyone seeking a sense of belonging.

The Polly House is a demonstration with load-bearing brick and adobe showcasing the possibilities without cement in a congested city plot or upper floor. Built with brick and lime on the ground floor, it features arches over all doors and windows, including an arched staircase without using any wood or iron. It also showcases shallow dome roofs using lime mortar (the first of its kind in recent history, as shallow domes are mostly constructed using cement as the mortar), topped with an entire adobe floor above to demonstrate its strength. The entire space is cement-free and pillarless, with sundried mud bricks for the adobe. The ground floor has brick flooring on a sand base with a vintage lime wash finish. The washroom is being done with tadelakt, while the upstairs washroom combines lime and tiles. The first-floor flooring is Limecrete, and the house employs eight different building techniques!

SCALE: How does Geeli Mitti involve and train local communities in their projects, and what impact has this had?

Shagun: The people from the village form my core team. We usually have about 10 volunteers or interns at all times, and during workshops, up to 70 people. Volunteers stay from 2 months to 2 years before often starting their own businesses. Over the years, we’ve trained hundreds of villagers to become contractors and masons, making them highly sought after. For projects outside Nainital, we train local artisans, masons, and contractors in the city of the project undertaken. For example, in West Bengal, we trained the Santhali tribe during a project called Dulariya. These trained teams then work across the country and train others, creating new entrepreneurs and expanding the natural buildings’ ecosystem.

SCALE: What are some of the other projects Geeli Mitti has undertaken?

Shagun: Apart from Geeli Mitti, we have undertaken many private and government projects across the country and abroad. While the functionality and brief differ, we maximise the use of natural building materials and techniques while creating local employment.

One of the projects we have initiated and completed recently was on the concept of creating an ‘Animal Sanctuary with a Difference’. After seeing many animal shelters, I realised that they all were dependent on external agencies for survival via donations. They are overworked and short of funds, and they are always on the periphery of society.

That’s why I conceptualised a financially sustainable model that would house rescued animals while creating a beautiful sustainable space that draws people in. A space where children and families can meet with, play with and hand feed the animals, so they can have compassion instead of fear or cruelty towards animals. This was first brought to life and tested a few years back at a sanctuary cum petting farm we created in Sainik Farm for a collaborator, then expanded the vision to make these sanctuaries 100% ecological, sustainable, and natural, and launched ‘Tuk-Tuk Gilhari’ in Noida with my friend partner – Rashi.

We are now opening another one in Gurgaon this month. Tuk-Tuk Gilhari has become a venue for kids and weekend getaways following the same sustainable concept where people come to interact and feed the rescued animals while also seeing in action sustainable building, farming, and technologies. This initiative now operates with financial independence, enabling animal sterilisation, feeding, and rescues nearby. It exemplifies our vision of integrating animals into sustainable living ecosystems, promoting compassion and harmony between humans and animals.

Architecture profoundly influences community culture. With design projects, we also engage in understanding allied ecosystems to architecture and provide contextual solutions.

The role of architecture extends beyond buildings, to understanding the ecosystem and analysing how the built environment can solve socio-economic or cultural issues. For instance, in West Bengal’s Shanti Niketan area, we witnessed a shift from traditional rice straw thatched roofs to modern tin and asbestos in the Santhali tribe villages, even moving toward concrete structures. Understanding that architecture stems from culture, we recommended to the local partner NGO to integrate traditional rice farming of native varieties in the ecosystem as an intervention for the community. With the reintroduction of native varieties, with robust stalks that are appropriate for roof thatching, we suggested a way to preserve the cultural and architectural heritage of the tribe. Study and analysis of the entire ecosystem is important before any ad-hoc interventions for long-lasting community benefits. We also taught the local community how to build with earthbags and other natural building techniques while using the challenging black cotton soil. These have helped revitalise their cultural ecosystem and created livelihoods while the partner NGO has been continuing their good work with eco-stays, workshops, and permaculture. This similar holistic approach, involving locals in sustainable projects, is how we worked at the Art of Living International Centre too in Bengaluru, training the teams, holding workshops, designing with permaculture, and building to empower the community.

SCALE: What is your mantra for life?

Shagun: The mantra for my life at Geeli Mitti is simple: be kind and be happy. Genuine happiness and kindness are the foundations for positive change in the world. By embodying these values, we can create a better, more sustainable future for everyone.