A home for each family is one of the core missions at Bhopa village.
Prior to the pandemic, 7 grass houses had been built with the funds from 2 NGOs that have been helping the village over the last 5 years. One of these NGO’s, Ladenraum, have funded a considerable number of them and visited in September 2022 to build two more.
A lot of this help for the village is thanks to various foreigners feeling very moved by the plight and poverty experienced by this tribe in Rajasthan. The visiting tourists continue to form friendships with some of the Bhopa, which allows them to experience Bhopa culture and visit their friends families there, becoming very attached in some cases.
Whenever the tourists come back to Pushkar, sometimes over many years, this friendship develops and can benefit both parties in different ways. A culture of international understanding fostered through friendship takes shape.
Some villagers have built their own grasshouses out of sticks and some have made grass walls or recycled them from decaying houses. The older men in the village - the big turbans of this culture, have the skills to muster a wall and sometimes a roof with help, but it is fairly skilled labour that is intensive and back breaking work. The younger men have the strength but less of the inclination to learn the skill.
Previously, most of the houses in the village were a combination of this recycling along with plastic tarpaulin roof covers. Some houses have no walls or only partial walls.
Many of the plastic constructions had holes in them. These were fixed by the villagers using remnants of clothing, scarves and other off- cuts of plastic collected from elsewhere.
A lack of privacy, constant mending and sudden collapse, particularly in monsoon time has been a common feature of life here.
So how does one build a grass house?
Bhagchand is the Bhopa village expert grasshouse builder. Bhagchand is from a different caste, a Nayak and has been working at the Bhopa village for the last four years. Initially he was building houses and through the pandemic, he was organising food parcels for up to 98 families at the peak of covid in 2021. Bhagchand lives in a nearby Nayak colony and undertakes construction work as his trade (+91 8094882408), as well as running his own general convenience store in chawandiya, near Pushkar.
In Rajasthan an expert is called a ‘mystery’ and Bhagchand has learnt the skills of the complicated weaving of the roof and walls in grasshouses/ juppa (Hindi) construction.
He has built many houses in the village and elsewhere. As the project manager, he would initially shop for the materials for each house.
Depending upon the time of year, the pampas grass (the main element in each build) could be difficult to find at a good price. Monsoon time is naturally wet and this can ruin the grass once it’s been cut, if it has been left out in the fields. Black damp grass is not good to use. Healthy grass is fresh and long.
Sometimes Bhagchand has had to visit different villages and farmers in search of enough grass for the number of buildings planned. Sometimes, he has to travel quite far as grassroof shelters are becoming very popular with some of the larger hotels using them on their roof terraces and restaurants.
The usual economies of scale principles apply. He would purchase the grass of 100 pampas bushes to build 3 houses. The grass would be cut when it reaches the perfect point of maturity, for both strength and length.
Bundles would be made and they look super pretty when laid out in the field.
Six stones are required for the box structure. Four at 7ft for the corners, and two at 9ft to hold and pitch the grass roof and walls to, along the bamboo skeleton.
This happens once the stones have been chiselled at the top and dug into the sand.
Stones are usually the first job on the build, after shopping for materials. Then it is selecting and positioning the bamboo poles, followed by a floor being made. This progress can and does vary according to what's available at the time. It's all heavy and hard work. The roof is then woven, followed by the topping of the building and lastly, the walls are made and tied on.
Concrete and rammed stones are the floor materials. This stone floor must be kept wet and patted down over a few days, usually by the mothers and daughters whilst about their household tasks.
This is set on the sand so it ends up floating somewhat, as there are no foundation to speak of. This is why the packing process is so crucial. It is a harsh environment and the sand does move. Packing the rocks helps keep everything secure in position.
Concrete skimming leaves the floor solid and protected from the elements.
The houses are traditional, sustainable, vaguely portable, hand crafted grass homes. They are by definition temporary dwellings, although the Bhopa gypsies at Bhopa Basti are no longer wholly nomadic.
Bhagchand usually takes 2 days to build a roof and the same for 4 walls. The roof is large and complex, depending on decoration.
Raising the roof is always a celebratory moment. Most of the village comes to help or watch and pass comment. The huge woven roof is lifted and carried to the stones. Once there, poles and sticks are used to edge it over the pitch of the bones of the roof, before it is tied down.
Religious pooja (prayers) are shared along with sweet things. Everybody relaxes as they admire the feat they have just undertaken. There is happiness in the air.
Some of the more able men were employed by Bhagchand to help with the labour and lifting. The Bhopa village expects each household to work on their own home during the building week. It can take 1-2 weeks to build a house depending on weather conditions and the availability of materials and labour.
Generally, the woman are at home a lot of the time and are able to work on side projects like doors and kitchens as well as making mitti porch steps.
The woman and children help Bhagchand with moving many of the materials, as a tractor or camel cart can only get so far up the sand dunes.
Some of the households are fairly deep into the desert and the roads are simply sand. Very fluffy sand until the rains come. This is super difficult to traverse. Woman power is what is needed as these matriarchs balance heavy bowls of rock and water pots on their heads, gliding over the sand dunes to the construction site.
The delightful feral children are incredibly strong and hard working too. Many do not go to school. More about this in another blog coming soon.
Once the new house is built, many of the old plastic/ stick structures are repurposed into vaguely indoor kitchens. This reusing of materials provides some cover, from the intense wind, heat and rain, when the women are cooking. Due to this approach, a new house is even more than that… it’s a new house and a repurposed kitchen. Moving the kitchen from the unprotected outside reduces the exposure to rain and dust.
The woman have also been encouraged to make wood boundaries and build up their wood/fire stocks to keep the wandering animals out. Some families have even started planting desert bushes near their water pot sites to further enhance their homesteads.
A door is ideally positioned for ease of access and a matcha (Indian woven bed) can be used to block the doorways from wandering goats and chickens and children. As each family makes their home better, wire and wood frames can be made to make better doors.
With Mukesh's family, the village experimented with canvas walls whilst repairing his family home. The traditional grass is the preferred option as canvas lets in air through the gaps. None of the houses are exactly the same so canvas becomes fiddly and expensive for bespoke shapes and sizes.
The repairs that Bhagchand undertook earlier in 2022 meant the seven homes built pre-end 2019 were once again maintained and elevated, so the standard of at least half the village is now much better.
It is wonderful to see how acts of kindness, with planning and a little help, can set off a domino effect of empowerment and wellbeing for a family and then a village. There is a renewed energy, and hope, that flows from the support given. People want to improve their lives even more.
The inter-familial jealousy that was apparent in the early stages of house building slowly became less of an issue. A poll was taken early on by the team at Bhopa village, whereby each family nominated who they thought needed a new house most. This method led to a list of names, this list has been followed and now each family believes and knows they are somewhere on the list and donations depending, will get a juppary.
The poll was a genius idea and has fostered collective responsibility by the villagers as well as collective pride. This change in vibe has had further benefits in well being but remains a fragile thing. We want to build for all the families on the list but this does mean we need your help and money 💰 (PayPal bhopavillage@yahoo.com)
Friendly and sympathetic tourists visiting the village have happily given donations, held fashion shoots and recorded music videos with this rural village backdrop. Due to intensive fundraising, both Indian and international people… kind hearted souls …have provided time and money to this group of gypsies 🙏 This is how many of the Bhopa have been able to move beyond mere subsistence. With help, families can have a better home, maybe electricity (more about this in our next blog) and slowly the possibilities of schooling for their children, along with the setting up of small businesses, becomes a real option in their lives, rather than an unobtainable pipe dream.
Tourists sometimes buy their friends a camel, invest in a chai shop or purchase tarps for their homes. Some donate to build these homes such as through us. Bhopa village (UK/India) or other NGO's like the Holi foundation (India) , Ladenraum (Austria). All have Facebook and Instagram pages so sign up and follow us all and share our posts.
At Bhopa village, the donations we receive are spent with real care and the money is used in an organised, planned way. This is based on need and being on the ground with Bhagchand checking in with people regularly. It's about everyone’s betterment.
During 2022 and to date, seven further dwellings have been built and the previous seven houses were mended. So much gratitude and thanks has been expressed by Tulcha (a widow) and her 4 children, Natu and his family, Munya’s family, Pancho’s family and Biraram’s family, also Ruparam’s family and Papu’s family of 14 children. They are all delighted with their new jupparies. The village is looking and working well …
We estimate another 14 homes would mean everyone has a home of the same quality. For that, we need you to open your smartphone wallets and google pay. Luckily, £10 goes a long way in India so please dig into your pockets and be part of this beautiful story with us. Your help and donations mean this work can continue. Having made such a difference on a systemic level, it would be wonderful to see the village continue to empower itself and see this tribe survive and grow.
Each house costs £250 to build - all materials and wages included. Every little helps. Please PayPal bhopavillage@yahoo.com
The village is looking Bhopa picture postcard and recently the Holi foundation has started a camp school. The general feeling is one of hope and possibility. More about these other changes in another blog. The overall effect is of a village thriving rather than simply surviving. This can only have benefits for the children who we hope now have better and more plentiful options than their parents did. As they move into adulthood, they can hopefully integrate into the modern India without losing their culture. Thank you all 🛖
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