AHMEDABAD: Imagine a house that requires no air conditioner or fan and yet remains cool during summer or a house that adjusts the temperature itself when the mercury dips!

At a time when providing affordable housing is a priority for the Narendra Modi government, an innovator from Gujarat is working on building affordable houses that require no electricity. Wankaner’s clay craftsman Mansukhbhai Prajapati—creator of the unique ‘Mitticool’ refrigerators that operate on zero electricity—is now working on creating low cost, eco-friendly houses where the cooling and lighting will be completely natural.

Prajapati has sought land in Wankaner from Gujarat government to carry out research on the green homes.

"My dream is to make eco-friendly houses with clay and simple physics. The houses should have no electricity but only renewable energy to maintain a comfortable temperature inside. I am in the process of conducting research, testing soil and other materials and working on the first model, which will be ready in the next six months," said Prajapati (45), whose company Mitticool Clay Creation earned Rs 50 lakh last year by selling products like fridge, cooker and other kitchen utensils made of clay.

In the fateful earthquake of 2001, Prajapati suffered a huge loss as most of his stock was broken, which forced him to sell his house to pay off debts. Impressed by his work, IIM Ahmedabad’s professor and founder of Honey Bee Network, Prof Anil Gupta, introduced Prajapati to the National Innovation Foundation, which lent him Rs 1.8 lakh while Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) mentored him. Prajapati resumed his business and created a fridge for the poor and was later called a ‘true scientist’ by former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam for his achievements.

“My aim is to create a lifestyle that helps protect and sustain the environment. The eco-friendly homes may not just be useful to the poor only but can be built by the rich as a farmhouse, also,” said Prajapati.

