Gul Bahao

Into the 21st century with new ideas from Gul Bahao

What is Gul Bahao

There is no doubt that Pakistan is in severe need of research work. Its universities and other institutes of scientific research by and large are not doing the kind of work they ought to be doing. This is why we have not been progressing in our economy, environment and so many other aspects of life. This is why items that could have been raw material for industry and agriculture are thrown away into garbage dumps, burnt or thrown into the sea. This only results in worse calamities, environmental pollution and natural disasters.

We refuse to acknowledge an important law of nature i.e. recycling; according to which there is nothing useless in nature not even human waste. There is perpetual crying over environmental pollution. Few solutions are given.

Gul Bahao has (for the last 15 years) been quietly working on industrial and municipal waste in order to bring forth a clean non-polluting environment as well as to make new discoveries for improving the economy and making life cheaper and easier for all.

The time is now ripe for the formation of the Gul Bahao complex, rudiments of which are already there on a 2000 sq. yards plot located on main Rashid Minhas Road.  Amongst others it has been visited by:

  1. The German councilor, Detlef Quester
  2. Mrs Almithra Patel, Supreme Court India
  3. World bank consultant, Mr Kazim Saeed
  4. 25 member delegation from Quetta
  5. Scores of Nazims and Naib Nazims from all over Sindh
  6. Students of architecture from Dawood, N.E.D and Karachi University
  7. BBC, Zee T.V Start Plus and several local T.V channels like AAJ T.V, Indus T.V,P.T.V, Sindh T.V,ARY Digital
  8. WWF and representatives of several NGOs

Pakistan’s first research center on waste management during the last thirteen years has come up with the following innovations:

  1. Wastic blocks and panaflex panels (alternative housing)
  2. Instant compost
  3. Water purification method
  4. Fuel Pack
  5. Fodder for cattle
  6. Mobile toilet
  7. Safai/Kamai Bank

The center has spent more than five crores out of which Rs 1.5 crores was loan and funds, the rest came from its commercial activities. At its peak point one can find 70 young men working on it, using a dozen or so vehicles, i.e. trucks, pickup vans and donkey carts. The center is doing what the government research organizations and universities are expected to be doing.

The center serves as the connecting link between the environment and the economy, and is meant to send out environmental intelligence to the world community through its website, newspapers and the electronic media.

The research center will concern itself with:

  1. Environmental issues
  2. Simple and cheap technologies

The Safai/Kamai bank and the chandi ghar are the earning/commercial/welfare arms of Gul Bahao. In addition they serve as extension programs of the research activities of Gul Bahao. The commercial objective is important as it helps to maintain sustainability and puts fewer burdens on the search for funds. The Safai/Kamai bank is the up-gradation of the “kabaria” in line with 21th century requirements, while the Chandi Ghar is a pre-fabricated housing plant. The welfare aspect gives employment and succor to the most down trodden in society.

We therefore request you in all earnestness to help the cause of research cum welfare in Pakistan by donating generously for the Gul Bahao complex.

Chandi Technology launched on 14th August

While Pakistan’s Punjab was witnessing the launch of the “Azadi March” on the 14th of August, Karachi’s Expo Center was witness to a rare spectacle. At one of its ends Gul Bahao’s 20′ x 24′ Chandi Ghar with its stunning looks was shining brilliantly in the sun, while thousands of middle class Karachites were “marching up and down” to view the international exhibition organised by the Association of  Builders and Developers ABAD at the Expo Center. Inside the Chandi Ghar, the workers of Gul Bahao including the organisation’s CEO were alternately holding up photographs and pointing to the items lying inside the prefabricated structure.

Amidst the sound and fury of the hundreds of people who kept coming in and out of the Chandi Ghar, the workers took pains to explain what the Chandi Technology is all about. Calling it “Karachi’s gift to the World” they compared it with the mobile telephone. The workers were telling the visitors “Just as the mobile phone has changed the lives of people (the world over)with its multifaceted tasks, so too the Chandi block is inter convertible into a water reservoir, a two story house and furniture. “You can see all this yourselves”, they said, pointing to the light weight blocks in the roof of the Chandi Ghar and then to the tinseled sofas which consisted of exactly the same kind of blocks as in the ceiling. Again they pointed to photographs of swimming pools consisting of exactly the same kind of blocks as in the walls. Other large sized pictures showed Chandi Ghars built in Thar, on the Super highway, Mansehra, right in the middle of Karachi, in Gulshan-e-Iqbal etc. It was claimed that 150 structures including large sized halls have been built all over the country.

While the visitors kept visiting the Chandi Ghar all day, strong winds were blowing. It even rained for a short time, yet the Chandi Ghar remained unaffected by it all. The steady stream of visitors kept encouraging the dedicated workers of Gul Bahao by enlisting their names for helping to promote the new technology as buyers and as participants of Gul Bahaos Rozgar La Mehdood (Opportunities unlimited) wherein the organisation plans to to train educated youth in its innovations.As night approached, the Chandi Ghar under the influence of the artificial lights began to take on a fairy tale look, drawing crowds of visitors, including a delegation of senior members of the Association of Builders and Developers. The delegation assured the Gul Bahao team of their full support.

Chandi Ghar – Warehouse

1. Rudimentary Structure (10’x12′)

Consists of a roof and floor (made of panaflex) and bamboo sticks, wall panels made up of aluminum foil and 8 was-tic blocks for the foundation. The roof would be inclined in order to let the rain pass through. The room size will be 10’x12′.

  • Roof 10’x12′. Costs Rs 10/square foot— Rs. 1,200
  • Floor 10’x12′ costs Rs 10/square foot— Rs. 1,200
  • Bamboo sticks (best available in the market) — Rs. 600
  • 4 wall panels (aluminum foil) —Rs. 400
  • 8 was-tic blocks — Rs. 300

The cost of this rudimentary structure will come to around Rs. 3,500

2. Chandi Ghar (10’x12′)

  • Consists of 10 columns of was-tic blocks 7 foot high.
  • 6 large and 12 small size bamboo sticks (best available in the market).
  • Panels made from either aluminum foil or panaflex panels, 3 in number
  • 2 wall panels on the side of the entrance.
  • 3 windows with a door opening of 3 feet

Rates:

  • 100 was-tic blocks at the rate of Rs. 40 per block — Rs. 4,000
  • 1 roof — Rs. 1,200
  • 1 floor — Rs. 1,200
  • Panels made from aluminum foil — Rs. 1,500
  • Panels made from panaflex — Rs. 4,000
  • Bamboo sticks — Rs. 600

Total cost of Chandi Ghar — Rs. 8,500 (panels made from aluminum foil)

Total cost of Chandi Ghar — Rs. 11,000 (panels made from panaflex)

Additional cost of windows and doors 50% hence coast of Chandi Ghar including doors and windows will be Rs. 12750, Rs.16500 respectively.

Cost of sending skilled worker would be Rs .400 per day for two people

Fuel Pack

Gul Bahao has announced its latest product called fuel pack. It was presented to a World Bank Consultant Mr. Kazim Saeed at the Gul Bahao’s Research Station in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. According to Gul Bahao it is an environmentally friendly alternate fuel. A very good substitute for coal. The product has come up at a time when the world is at logger heads over the supply of oil.

The fuel pack is a block weighing 10-12 kilos of size 6x17x21 inches. It is made from clean non-toxic industrial waste and contains bits of wood, paper, cloth pieces etc. Here it may be mentioned that Gul Bahao is daily collecting about 15 tons of waste material from 200 factories of Landhi and after several attempts has been able to come up with the fuel pack. The shape of the block is the same as that of was-tic blocks (building blocks made from plastic waste) and is made in the same mould. This took several years to develop. The pack does not contain anything that may produce toxic fumes. It is portable and is covered with tinsel or aluminum foil, which gives it an aesthetic look. Another attractive aspect of this block is its relative cost effectiveness. It costs as little as Rs 20 per block. It has been tried experimentally and has given excellent results. A business group in Karachi has volunteered to market it

Chandi Technology presented at the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Yesterday, the 13th of June was another milestone in Gul Bahao’s history when a meeting was held at the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the Chandi technology developed by Gul Bahao during the last 15 years or so. The meeting was attended by Gul Bahao’s Nargis Latif in addition to Mr. Kalusha Kingsley of the United Nations office for south cooperation and Mr. Idrees of the ICCI . The meeting was in fact the culmination of several weeks interaction on the internet. First of all a brief report was presented by Mr. Kingsley which along with photographs described salient features of the new technology:

  1. He said, “Being plastic it is hygienic it is mud houses that are the sources of infection”. “Where there is no illness there is no poverty”, remarked the CEO of Gul Bahao.
  2. It is low cost. A 10×12 room costs as little as 15,000 and easy to put up.
  3. It is strong against the elements viz. wind storms, rains, termites etc.
  4. It is cool in summer and warm in winter. Here Nargis Latif interjected that it is this very quality that has adhered itself to the people of Thar where hundreds of people are anxiously waiting for it.

The CEO of Gul Bahao described the discovery of the Chandi Ghar as phenomenal and totally in sync with 21st century requirements. Addressing the U.N representative Nargis said that by supporting the Chandi technology the United Nations will be coming closer to its  cherished Millennium development goals of making life easier for the common man.

Comparing the Chandi technology with the mobile technology, Nargis said that just as the mobile technology has changed the course of human life so too the Chandi block because of its prefabricated and modular nature will bring about another technological revolution. A two story Chandi Ghar can easily be converted into a water reservoir, furniture (including sofas, beds etc ) and vice versa. According to the Gul Bahao head, a significant aspect of the development of this technology has been crores of rupees invested in its research and extension. Looking back into the years 2000-2007, the aftermath of the 9,11 event has been a blot on mankind. At the same time, a lot of money poured into Karachi which became a huge laboratory for Gul Bahao’ s experiments, she remarked. Both the representatives of the ICCI and UNSCC offered to get investment from various sources for developing the Chandi Technology. In addition they agreed to promote it on various international fora in the middle east as well as in the U.S.A. They said videos and large sized photographs would be used in foreign exhibitions. In addition small real life replicas would also be put up in the exhibitions, they declared.