initiative for green habitats

SImilar to the chicken coop story, the cow shed design provided a sustainable design alternative for the conventional structures suggested by the administration. 

The design utilises locally available bamboo, which is treated and used to form the main structure along with stabilised adobe block masonry for the low toe walls on the sides and the masonry tanks for feed and water.  The structural system of the basic module three rows of a pair of vertically placed triangular bamboo frames, which are mirror replicas of each other. These six triangular frames, rise outwards, with the lowest point at the centre, forming a butterfly roof running along the length of the module. The feeding trays also run in the same direction . Each cow bay is between two pairs of these triangular bamboo frames. The extreme frames are covered on the outer side with split bamboo members forming a rain splash protection. The roofs also project out ensuring that the cows are protected from direct rain splash. Additional bamboo screens are provided on these extreme ends of the roof form to reduce any potential rain spray. The cows enter their bays from one side. The module comes with a floor drain for run off like urine and wash water, which leads into a collection pit at one end.

The entire module can be extended in a linear manner to get a larger one sided cow shed, and can also be extended in both directions to get a centrally covered cow shed for a larger number of cattle.