May-June 2012

HERITAGE
An array of products of Yala, ranging from metal utensils
to buttons and jewelry.
“RENOVATION IS NOT A PROJECT, IT IS A LIFESTYLE”
- MR. PRABIN CHITRAKAR, YALA
For centuries, building and
building maintenance has not
been about hiring professional
help, it was always an endeavour
of the community and the family.
Of course the international norms
of conservation are better followed
by a conservationist and perhaps
the end result is also better, but
conserving a building one has
been living at should not be
a farfetched and unaffordable
task. There was a time when the
‘sikarmi’ (carpenter) living around
the corner would be called upon
to fix a staircase, when everyone
knew how to clean their jhingati
roofs and how to polish their
telia floors. Today this knowhow
is diminishing, with the lack of
people who are aware of such
technologies; hence it is important
to promote the artisans who still
have the traditional knowledge
by promoting the lifestyle of
renovation and adaptive reuse.
“The people who work in these
traditional arts do not realize
their own capacity, yet they
are the ones who are realizing
these visions and who actually
make it happen”, adds Mr.
Chitrakar. The idea behind the
renovation of the office buildings
at Kwalakhu is the resurrection of
this traditional technology without
the intervention of any foreign
knowledge or the influence of a
school of design. It is not only by
visiting a museum that the general
public can learn of the splendours
of this place, at Yala the visitors can
feels the space around them and
hopefully can get inspired to adapt
these ideas into their own homes.
Even with all the potential social
benefits of the endeavours at Yala,
it is important to note that these
actions are not only for a social
cause, there is a professional,
promotional and business aspect to
this place and all that is done here.
The highlight is that the place and
the people have realized a way that
will cause promotion as well
as preservation.
spacesnepal.com 46
May - June 2012