The study of architecture at the Auroville Earth Institute was the meeting place of Shruthi Ramakrishna, Jérémie Gaudin and Agnimitra Bachi. The trio learnt that to design with earth, you must really know the material and become friends with it. Working with Chenelet Construction in France helped the group realise the full potential of bio-sourced materials and innovations in earth building techniques, which addressed the challenges of high manpower costs and elaborate building regulations.

On returning to India, an eagerness to shape and mould by hand saw the trio travel to Khamir and Hunnarshala in Kutch, Gujarat. Here they worked with communities making crafts and the seed was sown from these experiences to establish their own practice. There was much curiosity to understand how collectives are formed, entrepreneurship thrives and how projects are mounted in ecological architecture.

During this time, they met diverse people working to make the natural building movement a more accessible and desirable alternative. They participated in Design-Build workshops, where architecture came together as a community-led process. The lines between designing and making were blurred and Made In Earth was a spontaneous extension of all this.

The potential and need of bringing earth into spaces is so relevant in India, and Ramakrishna, Gaudin and Bachi continue to be inspired by this rich geographical and cultural context to create an architecture that is closer to the people and tied to the ecosystems.

Photography: Made In Earth Collective