Ifda dossier 47, May/June 1985

We have to make more out of whatever we have. Most of what
is available within Third world countries is their people
and their local expertise. If we degrade those village ex-
perts as not modern, less efficient and then introduce mod-
ern machinery and its agents, the professionals, we will be
treading a very expensive path in which we will not only
loose our great cultural heritage but will become dependent
and thus deprived of the opportunities to create and parti-
cipate in self-development. B.P. Koirala borrows words of
wisdom from Gandhi who said that any development that by-
passes the villager is not development at all.
Let me elaborate this point further in the architectural
profession. Today, Nepalese architects are bent on bringing
modern technology of cement and steel in their architecture.
Although certain merits are found in these materials, the
traditional mud, timber and stone are certainly not of in-
ferior materials. Many times, they are far superior 9/.
These architects have completely ignored the rich cultural
heritage of our traditional architecture. This is most evi-
dent in Kathmandu. The modern architecture of Kathmandu is
in sharp contrast with the traditional one which relied on
local materials and local know how. The Newar architecture
is so sophisticated that many tourists from all over the
world wonder whether these could be real. Allan Rodger, Pro-
fessor in Architecture at Melbourne University, who visited
Nepal, said:
If one of your traditional buildings is placed in New York or in any
major city of the industrialized country, it will be a museum on its
om. Here, you have the whole c* of it. .. Sepal is a very capital in-
tensive country with its rich terrace-fields and beautiful architecture.
The Nepalese professionals have failed to respond to this cultural de-
velopment in pursuit, of uesterr. culture. This can bring no healthy de-
velopment of the people except deprivation and dependence.
The fact is that the Nepalese architects in India, Soviet
Union and other industrial countries have no expertise in
traditional building techniques: detail designing, wood car-
ving, integrated community planning and architecture. They,
therefore, feel helpless when -trying to respond to these
cultural traditions. They then ignore it in favour of modern
design which is easier to work with their new tools of T
squares and set squares that give straight lines only. The
people, in general, believe that a trained professional pro-
duces a better home and hence regard that their own houses
are of an inferior quality. They would not hesitate to de-
stroy their own culture for the new mode.
9J Ramesh Manandhar, 'Cement, steel or mud', The rising Nepal (Kath-
mandu, 17 Sept. 1982); 'Mud brick roofs in developed countriesr, The
rising Nepal (June 1982); 'Mud, mud, glorious mud' Development Forum
(October 19831.