Woven Wisdom/Rooted Lives: A cooperative textile village in Sri Lanka

Woven Wisdom / Rooted Lives A Cooperative Textile Community in Sri Lanka TAASI EAST

Overview

Most impacted area by war and water issues

(Our site)

90,000 war widows at the end of a 30-year civil war

WAR WIDOW

800,000 Tamils emigrated during the conict

DISPLACEMENT

280, 000 people internally displaced

TSUNAMI TRAUMA

Massive death and destruction were caused by the December 2004 tsunami

ETHNIC VIOLENCE

Ongoing periodic conflict between Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslims and Christians

Culture Religion & Identity

* Religion population in Eastern Sri Lanka

* Religion population in Batticaloa

The average temperature in North East Sri Lanka is 27 °C (81 °F ) The annual precipitation is around 1750 mm ( 69 inch)

Climate

Winter Monsoon Tropical Storm "Hudhud" 2014

Summer Monsoon

Flood in Sri Lanka 2016

Hydrology

Ecology (Vegetation and Soil)

Rock outcrops

Streams crossing our site from east to west

Site feature

Economy

1960-1977 1980-2009

Women hold political power in Sri Lanka

2002-2006 2009 - Present

Many women were victims of direct violence, being raped, killed, or maimed during the civil war, and were internally displaced Emphasis of bringing women into formal negotiations during peace process and awareness that women are not only victims, but individuals with rights and agency

Women and Peacebuilding

Many local civil society organizations, INGOs, and foreign states volunteered to address issues relating to the health, economic empowerment, employment, and political representation of women

Resources: Cornelie Quist (2015).Widows' Struggles in Post-War Sri Lanka: Elusive Peace, Pervasive Violence Sri Lankan Women’s Struggle for Security and Justice

Suriya Women's Development Centre, Batticaloa Eastern Social Development Foundation, Batticaloa Muslim Women's Research and Action Forum, Ampara and Batticaloa Sarvodaya Women's Movement Women's Rural Development Societies, various locations

Existing Women-focused Organizations in the Eastern Province

Women’s issues

Project Overview

HEALTH OF INDIVIDUALS, SOCIETY AND EARTH

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

WOMEN‘S EMPOWERMENT

OBJECTIVES

CREATIVITY

SUSTAINABILITY

COOPERATION

COMMUNITY

Sustainability as Framework

Energy Solar Energy -Solar Panel -Solar Oven -

Bio Energy -Bio Gas -Bio Mass -Bio Material

Waste

Water

Climate

-waste water -organic waste -human waste -solid waste

-Capture -PuriďŹ cation -Storage

-Wind Corridor -Sunken Space -(Courtyard Effect)

Restoration

Self development

Reconnecting

Back to grid

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Overall Structure

System Section

Handloom Weaving in Sri Lanka

Handloom Weaving History Timeline in Sri Lanka

Handloom Weaving Input & Output

Handloom Weaving Sustainability Strategy We try to capture the rainwater from roof top, purify it in the rainwater tank, and then storage it. And we also reuse water from the daily use and agricultural into textile dyeing process. There are also solid waste from fiber extraction and weaving process, and we were thinking about turning those waste into biomass energy.

Economic Self-sufďŹ ciency and Sustainability

Economic Network

Physical Network: Build new economic networks: Adapt to native condition to reduce the costs, achieve community self-sufficient (mini-industry chain: agriculture - manufacturing - services)

provide women for jobs strengthen external connection build local manufacturing workshops

Virtual Network: Establish the online visiting and selling platform: Advertise native culture and crafts, promote the physical economy development

cooperate with international organizations establish online store post the crafts making and culture introduction video

Provide women with the job opportunities Focus on the women issues, provide jobs for local women, relieve the family economic pressure.

Encourage home factories, develop homemade crafts.

Strengthen external connection Develope export trade: Develope the trade with surrounding areas and overseas

Drive the construction of road systems

Establish the connection with international organizations: Help to sale the products

Increase the local visibility

Develop virtual tourism Respond to the impact of coronavirus to the physical tourism

Provide the platform for advertising the native culture and handicrafts

Benefits: Profit from the tickets of virtual tourism & increase community visibility

Increase the sales of the local specialty products (agriculture produces and handicrafts)

Provide more jobs for local people and women, promote the development of trade with outside

Weaving as Economic Strategy & Concept for Community Building

Commercial mode in Parai Nilam & Cooperation with surrounding villages

Cottage industry

Disabled, unwilling to engage in textile industry

Community Center Business Incubation

Get the subsidy from local government, decide the industry type, production process and sales channel by themselves

Women co-housing industry Have certain working group

Production Chain Commercial Center

Community industry

(handloom, textile, handicraft, natural dye)

Community Center ●

Training (Basic technical skills & advanced skills, the thinking about design)

● ● ● ● ●

Education (lecture hall, schools, children care center) Recreation (sports area, performing center, Exhibition hall, restaurant, tea/coffee house) Religion (meeting hall, spiritual spaces) Aid (aid agency, hospital) Hotel (surrounding villagers/tourists)

Production Chain

Commercial Center ●

Resources

middle scale

cultivation : weaving/natural dye/eat/medical Large cultivation area/healing garden/cultivation lab

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Standard workshop (ensure production) Innovation design studio (inspire new idea)

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Raw Material

Textile: fabric production/gray cloth Weaving/handicraft: pretreatment of plants (size, width…)

Natural dye: powder (pure color/mixed color) Standard workshop (ensure production) Innovation design studio (inspire new idea)

Finished Production

Sell (online/offline) Exhibition (online/offline)

Market street : trade with tourists/villagers,

● ●

Exhibition hall :mainly for academic

communication, small scale Warehouse :mainly for store goods and export/import, large scale Parking lot Drive way

Water Management Principles

1. WATER VOLUME CALCULATION

2. WATER SYSTEM LAYOUT

Landscape Principles

1 Outcrop and material principle

2 Ecology - Plants Utilization Utilizing native plants as much as possible to satisfy living and economic needs, while improving microecology.

3 Wide Life Danger - Eco-barriers Combining the attractive and the repulsive to build eco-barriers guiding elephants away from our core site and contributing to elephant-human harmony.

Site Planning Principles

Site Planning Principles

Program Location ● ● ● ● ●

Agriculture Recreation Textile Industry Residential Common Building

Circulation ● ●

Public Private

Terracing Strategy Future Development ●

Adjacent Connection

Site Planning Principle Previous Proposals From Landscape Principle Group & Landscape Program Group

Landscape Principle

Terracing

Healing Landscape

Elephant Habitat

Textile Industry

Site Planning Principle Previous Proposals From Landscape Principle Group & Landscape Program Group

Elephant Barrier Water Flow

Site Planning Principle Elephant Barrier Reservoir & Tank System

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rrie

a nB

tio eta

g Ve

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rri

ec hit

a tur

a lB

c Ar

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1000

Site Planning Principle Agriculture Program

More Agriculture Planting

More Textile Material Planting

Kitchen & Community Gardens

N 0

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1000

Site Planning Principle Recreation Program

Spi

rit J

Three Types of Water System 1.

Reservoir & Tank System 2.

Architectural System (among buildings) 3.

Canal System (eg. agricultural irrigation)

our n

ey

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1000

Site Planning Principle Previous Proposals From Landscape Principle Group & Landscape Program Group

Residential Area Textile Work Place Common Buildings

Site Planning Principle Residential & Common Building & Textile Industry Allocation Residential Area Textile Work Place Common Buildings

Text ile

Library / Archive Center

Area

Children Center Women Center Parai Nilam Center

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Community Center

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1000

Site Planning Principle Public & Private Circulation Major Public Road Community Routes Common Buildings

Textile Area

Women Center Parai Nilam Center

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1000

Site Planning Principle Terracing Strategy

Architectural Principles

Architectural Principles Spatial Logic Safety - Shared Living - Privacy

Passive Climate Control - Rain and Flooding - Humidity: Circulation

Relationships Ground Courtyard Water Garden

Community and Privacy

Unit Typologies ●

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Bathrooms and Kitchens face Gardens ○ Access to water tanks, produce, and composting Courtyard for cooling ○ Water collection during rains, covered walkways From entrance into a series of semi-public spaces before access to the most private spaces (bedrooms)

Clusters

Composting Landscape

Composting Toilet for Residential House -Kitchen -Toilet Filter: seaweed, clay pots, charcel, sand -Home Garden Composing area

Waste Treatment & Recycle

Biogas and Biomass Process In Agriculture

Storage tank

Proces Tank

Water storage (in architectural realm) Multi-function: Planting

Multi-function: Waterwall

Solar power generation

Solar Panel

Solar Oven

Solar powered water desalination

Solar water heaters

Final Proposal

Site Program Residential Program ● ● ● ●

Single Private House Single Shared House Single Family Two Families

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Communal Kitchen (Outdoor) Public Restroom (Compost toilet) Yard & Home Garden Barns (Storage / livestock)

Common Program ●

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Children Center

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Community Center Village Meeting Laundry Room

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Library & Archive Center

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Parai Nilam Center Guest House / Hostel Cafe / Food Area

Textile Industry Program ● ● ●

Warehouse Weaving Sheds Drying Yard

Women Center Dormitory (Short term) Children Care Clinic Training Room Office

Private

Public

Final Proposal Village Layout

2 3

4 9

5

11

6 13 2

7 12

1. Parai Nilam Center 2. Agriculture 3. Elephant Barrier 4. Library / Archive Center 5. Textile Building & Furniture Workshop 6. Children Center 7. Gathering Area 8. Women’s Center 9. Community Center 10. West Village 11. East Village 12. Spirit Journey 13. Main Reservoir

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Site Construction Phasing Existing Landscape

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Site Construction Phasing Year 1-2

Elephant Barrier - Palm Trees - Electronic Fence - Neem Trees Reforestation of Spirit Walk Areas

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Site Construction Phasing Year 3

Upper & Lower Reservoir

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Site Construction Phasing Year 4

25 Families - Living in the future Women’s Center - with food gardens and adjacent pond.

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Site Construction Phasing Year 5

Main Reservoir Start Building - Houses built in West Village, more people move in

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1000

Site Construction Phasing Year 6

Main Reservoir Complete - Three large reservoir connect in the Central Valley - Agriculture begin in West Village

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Site Construction Phasing Year 7

Main Textile Building & Furniture Workshop Start Building - More houses build in West Village.

- Agriculture begin in East Village

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Site Construction Phasing Year 8

Main Textile Building & Furniture Workshop Complete - Children’s Center and Community Gathering Place start building - More houses and water tanks build in West Village

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Site Construction Phasing Year 9

Upper and Lower West Village Housing and Reservoir Finish - Main gathering plaza build.

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Site Construction Phasing Year 10

East Village Housing Development Begin

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Site Construction Phasing Year 11

East Village Housing Complete

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Site Construction Phasing Year 12+

Parai Nilam Center Complete Library / Archive Center build in lower reservoir

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Planting Phasing

Healing Landscape

Spirit Journey| gender

The woman performs the role of wife, partner, organizer, administrator, director, re-creator, disburser, economist, mother, disciplinarian, teacher, health officer, artist and queen in the family at the same time. Apart from it, woman plays different roles in different ages.

This spirit journey will utilize spatial experiences to show sri lanka women’s roles in each stage of their lives.

BACK TO FOREST(RESTART)

DRYING LAWN(CONTRIBUTOR)

WORKING

THE FLOWER SUPPER(MOTHER)

CROSSING MOUND(GROWING)

MEDIATION POND(BORN)

WATER MIRROR(START)

START

BORN

GROWING

MOTHER

WORK

CONTRIBUTOR

RESTART

Buffer Zone SPECIAL CROPS

ELECTRICAL FENCES

PALM TREES

WATER POND

WATER TOWER/ WATCHING TOWER

Women’s Center

Design Criteria

Features

Textiles Center

Resources | fiber plants Soil Type Rocky, Dry, Sandy Dry In Water All Soil Types Well drained, rich soil

Plant

Part of plant used in textile production

Other Plant Parts & their Uses

Bowstring Hemp

Leaves

Dried rhizomes & roots: antiseptic ointments. Roots: purgative, tonic, expectorant & anti-fever remedies.

Hemp

Outer Layer of stalk

Any other part: Biogas

Bamboo

Woody Stalks

Leaves & Roots: Biogas

Water Hyacinth

At least 50 cm mature stem

Leaves: Feed livestock, biogas

Leaves and fiber from fruit

Branches: construction, craft. Sprouts/roots/sap: medicinal. Stems:, brushes,ropes. Any: Biodiesel

Husks (coir fiber), leaves

Fruit: sugar, oil, feed, pith: soil cond., animal bedding, husks: charcoal, remove impurities, buffers, roots: med.

Roots (dyes)

Leaves: tea, oils, salve- digestion, sore throat,wounds.

Seeds: feed livestock. All parts may be eaten.

Palm (Borasus F.) Palm (Cocos N.)

Plantain

Natural dyes

Natural mordants

Textile Center Location and Layout

In order to reduced the noise pollution of 40 looming machines in the textile center, we proposed to move the textile center away from the residential area, where could be surrounded by rock and vegetations.

Meanwhile, the textile center is half-surrounded by water and rock to be make the workers feel cooler. The architecture might also interacting with the unique rock there.

Storage 400 sqft

Fiber extraction Bamboo Fiber extraction 500 sqft

1000 sqft

Pre-Dye 1000 sqft

Dyeing 1000 sqft

Weaving Room 4000 sqft (Noise isolation wall)

Rooftop drying 2000 sqft

Drying Yard 2000 sqft

Men Toilet

Women Toilet

Central Courtyard (surrounded by bamboo) (water collection and raw material cultivation)

Tea room

Meeting room

Material library & display

WEAVING CENTER BUILDING

DYEING CENTER BUILDING

With half open space, the rooftop of weaving center is another choice for drying in rain season. There is a ramp to the rooftop, which could make transfer easier.

The rooftop is a ramp with solar panels on it, so that we could collect water in a rain season and collect sunshine in a sunny day.

With the rainwater collection system, the dyeing center can be a self-sufficient system. We keep same color in the same tank to reduce the pollution and reuse the dyeing material. We could also use plants to extra and remove heavy metals from soil.

Drying Scene

Children’s center and all community gathering space Sathya & chenjie

Textile Center Children Center Women Center

Concept and Principle Safety

Minus Interference

Linear spine/architectural composition

Lilypad Form

Facade Materiality

Parai Nilam Center -Smera & Shreeyaa

Parai Nilam Centre Concept

Parai Nilam Centre Textures

Parai Nilam Centre Plan

LAND FOR AGRICULTURE

5 B

B

C I R C U LAT I O N 4

3

LO CATI O N

ON

SITE

WALLS A

2

A

R

M

5

IN

AREAS (SQ.M)

O

O A

4

D

1

RECEPTION OFFICE LOUNGE

160 250 460

2

HOSTEL

750

3

SHOP

130

4

GALLERY

750

5

CAFE

750

1

R

SPACES

A

PROGRAM

N

L EXISTING ROCKS

3 2

5m

1 10 m

S PAC E S

20 m

Parai Nilam Centre Section

ACCESS TO ROCK AREA

Parai Nilam Centre Entrance

Parai Nilam Centre Path to the hostel

Residential Area Organization Logic

1 house (92 m2 / 1 floor, total two floors) + 1 courtyard (50 m2)

1 cluster (5-8 houses) + kitchen garden + plaza + fresh water tank (rainwater from rooftops) + fresh water channel + grey water channel

3 clusters + a larger tank (seasonal maybe) + community garden + communal laundry space + bio-remediation swale

1 village + 1 or 2 community center ( laundry room_ 2 washing machines / 50 people bio-remediation basin compost toilets )

Residential Housing Typology

Unit Design

Unit Plan

Unit Section

Home Garden

Residential Life Scene

Product designs Characterized Furniture: design based on local wildlife.

Elephant Bench 1.2.3

Elephant Bench 3 The prototype of the Bench is transformable, and has a large space inside for storage.

Function: bench, desk, tea table, cabinet

Elephant Bench 3

Various material choices come from local production.

Material: fabric, wood, bamboo, palm leaves, cotton

Technic: carving, sewing, weaving

Elephant Bench 3

Decorating samples for children center

Material: fabric, wood, bamboo, palm leaves, cotton

Technic: carving, sewing, weaving

Children’s Bench

Other business ventures

PROGRAMS

Job Opportunity Products