Harivillu 2

Location: Ammavaripeta, Andhra Pradesh
Completed: October 2020
Volunteers: Felice Burrows and Emily Palmer (& Arancha Alvear, RDT architect)

Harivillu 2 is The Anganwadi Project’s second anganwadi with RDT (Rural Development Trust). Harivillu 2 is located in village of Ammavaripeta in the Bukkarayasanudram Mandal in Andhra Pradesh. It is less than 10km from the city of Anantapur where partner organisation RDT is based. The context here is rural.

The village was selected on the basis of need. Although there was an existing small anganwadi in another part of the village it was not adequate to support the growing number of young children in the community. The anganwadi group already existed, with a teacher (Laxmi), 30+ children and 5 ante and post-natal mothers who receive nutritional support every day.

Designed by TAP volunteers, Felice Burrows and Emily Palmer, the school incorporated the important design moves of a double-layer roof to mitigate the Indian heat, openings for passive ventilation and incorporation of the existing trees to cool the space. Design elements such as the custom jali metalwork, patterned brickwork and use of colour create a level of detail that highlights the importance of such a building to the community while being an innovative and low cost method of enhancing the design.

A moment of success that reflected TAP philosophies, was to be able to use Cement Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB) in the project, using local soil within 20kms of the building site. The blocks were made at RDT and local labour used. The use of CSEB and their success exemplifies sustainable building methods to RDT and the local communities. The use of CSEB directly contributes to reduction of pollution.

Despite the challenges of Covid-19 which put a halt to construction for several months, it has been incredibly encouraging to see the anganwadi come to life; a beautiful metaphor for what is possible in difficult times. Many thanks to RDT Habitat, Arancha Alvear (local RDT architect), and the beautiful teachers and children of the community for helping the project to come to life.