Wednesday, March 16, 2011

How to Build a Bottle School


Last weekend, I got the rare opportunity to take part in something amazing.
A group from our agency trouped over to San Pablo to help build a bottle school. 

The school is the project of My Shelter Foundation and the social entrepreneur, Illac Diaz. The idea is to use Litro soda bottles filled with soil as a sustainable and cheap replacement for traditional cement blocks. I learned that a filled bottle is much stronger than a cement block and costs just 1 Peso, making bottle schools extremely affordable. The only glitch is that it’s quite labor intensive. So if you can, try and volunteer.


How to Build a Bottle School:  

Step 1: Gather bottles. A whole lot of bottles. Pepsi helped gather 7,000 to 8,000 needed for the classrooms. 

 Step 2. Find a place with a lot of dry dirt.

Step 3: Sift it so that there are no roots or rocks.

Step 4. Create a mixture of water, soil, and 3% cement. Put them inside bottles. Get dirty.

Step 5: Stop for yucky photo op. (Note: Mud feels strangely refreshing on hands.)

Step 6: Break for lunch at your nearest SM food court.

Step 7: Gather bottles that have been baked in the sun for 12 hours and start stacking it up with cement.

Step 8: Pose on finished wall. Don’t you just dig how the bottles add texture to the walls?

Tadah! You have a bottle school that will last up to three generations. Here's a photo of some kids that hung out with us the whole day. The kid in pink is a boy. Such a cutie.

Please don’t try this at home kids! Contact this expert first. It was his idea and I’m sure he’ll be glad to help you get started. He’s also cooking up another project worth looking at- Isang Litrong Liwanag uses plastic bottles as an alternative light source for homes. The magic is that it requires no electricity. 
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10 comments:

  1. monachangMarch 16, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    I already met Illac Diaz! Indeed,he has a heart for people. Thank's for citing him in this entry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KnoxMarch 16, 2011 at 7:44 PM

    Hi Monachang, it was great meeting him. Nice to know there are passionate people who are out there to do good for the country. Inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DaveMarch 17, 2011 at 6:06 AM

    Very cool! Ang ganda din ng mga pics. What a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MusaMarch 17, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    Yes, it's a brilliant idea. I want a house built with bottles now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DidiMarch 24, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    This is cool and I love the photos :) Gudjab knox! well if it's labor intensive, then it really is a labor of love :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. MusaApril 1, 2011 at 6:00 PM

    Thanks Didi. It is quite cool. We should have more efforts like this.

    ReplyDelete
  7. EdmondJune 30, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    Nice work. I'm an architect student heading over to Manila in 2 weeks. Are there any art/design districts you could recommend whilst I'm out there.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. MusaJuly 1, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    Hi Edmond, you definitely have to check out our old churches in Intramuros. There are also curiosities like the Coconut Palace and bamboo houses which you might want to google :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oreo BuddiesSeptember 30, 2011 at 1:51 PM

    Hi!

    My name is Nicole Batac from SPEED magazine. We're working on an article on this project and we're wondering if we could use one or two of your photos. You will be properly credited, of course. Please get in touch with me through my email so we can talk more about it.

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Architecture In DevelopmentOctober 14, 2011 at 5:09 PM

    Dear Musa,

    Thanks for the great photos and stories about this project and the building process.
    Would you like to become the author and share the story of Bottle School for our website?
    http://www.architectureindevelopment.org
    Please don't hesitate to contact me for more information!

    ReplyDelete