Gul Bahao

Into the 21st century with new ideas from Gul Bahao

Chandi technology delights people of Thar

In the treeless desert of Tharparkar the scene is the Civil Hospital of Mithi. At the entrance everyone (both rich and poor) stops to stare at a 25×35 ft. silver structure glittering in the hot sun. They  have never seen a Chandi Ghar (a product of Karachi) before. As they enter they are pleasantly surprised to find it cool despite the absence of fans and air conditioners.

The Chandi Ghar Rest house, a prefabricated structure was completed in five days by an NGO Gul Bahao on the 12th of April. It is a gift from the middle class civil society of Karachi for the people of Thar. City School Darakshan Campus, Foundation Public School and Rotary Club Defence are the apparent donors of the rest house but silent donors run into hundreds. These include professionals, teachers, businessmen as well as companies who give their commercially viable wastage for free.

The rest house is being used since the day the roof was put in. it is mainly used by the relatives of patients who come to the hospital. A plus point of the structure is its potential to remain clean as the entire structure is made of plastic. There is a total absence of mud or cement. Its sheer novelty is attracting people from far and wide who are now interested in buying this technology to make homes,madrassas,warehouses etc.

In the meantime,the CEO of Gul Bahao has appealed to both the provincial and federal government, Karachi’s businessmen and entrepreneurs to support the Chandi technology which has costed crores of rupees to develop and decades to evolve. Referring to the governments Youth loan program Nargis Latif said  that the Chandi technology ( which uses plastic factory waste to make houses,water reservoirs, furniture  and rugs) can become a part of the scheme. The best part is that very little investment is required while the market potential is enormous!

Chandi technology being sent to Thar

Yesterday Nargis Latif of Gul Bahao addressed a meeting of the Rotary Club Defense. Nargis said that Gul Bahao has participated in relief work in all major natural disasters that have taken place in the last ten years or so. Be it the earth quake of 2005,floods of 2010,the recent earthquake in Awaran,fires in Shantinagar in Karachi etc. According to her,although in terms of numbers there is no comparison with the immense work done by others (both national and international agencies), Gul Bahaos intervention has been historic nonetheless. These disasters, she said helped in the launching and growth of the Chandi technology,she said. According to her,more than nine crore rupees have gone into developing this technology, while it has taken more than 20 years.

The Gul Bahao head revealed that her organisation is now on the eve of taking off for Tharparkar where the representatives of the Prime ministers relief team have been been anxiously waiting for the arrival of this technology which is eminently suitable for the desert like conditions of the Thari terrain as well as the nomadic lifestyle of the people as the Chandi ghar is portable in nature . What is more, it is cool in summer and warm in winter. According to Nargis Latif Gul Bahao has an ambitious program of giving thousands of Tharis prefabricated Chandi blocks which being modular in nature can be easily converted into rooms, water storing ponds, beds ,tables and sofas . The Rotarians were informed that Gul Bahao will be providing mobile toilets for the women folk which is indispensable for them in the bare,treeless desert. While the Chandi technology has numerous advantages,she said what makes it stand out is the low cost making it very useful for the lower classes.

Appealing to urban based Rotarians Nargis said that it must be realized that if the rural people are not helped during disasters they will have no alternative except to migrate to the cities making them totally unsustainable.Nargis said that the need of the hour is to have more towns and cities all over the country rather than having one or two metropolises. The Chandi technology can play an important role in motivating the youth to move out of the big cities into the rural areas, she said.

Nargis thanked the Rotary Club Defense for helping to finance its relief work for Thar as well as their monetary help in their relief work in Awaran Baluchistan recently. Here it may be mentioned that Gul Bahao in its immediate program for Mithi is being helped by City School Darakshan Campus as well.

Relief for people of Thar

Dear friends, Gul Bahao has been using its Chandi Ghar technology to put up prefabricated structures in disaster affected areas for the last 10 years or so in Mansehra, Muzzafargarh, Thatta, Awaran etc. you will be happy to know that our work is slowly but surely being recognized the world over. Our innovations are such that they can easily be used at extremely low cost and put up in a matter of hours or even minutes to give:

  1. structures-halls,rooms,water ponds,mobile toilets
  2. furniture-beds & chairs
  3. water purifying techniques
  4. cattle feed

an important duty we have assumed is acting as facilitators for relief workers so that they can get their act together. we now appeal to you to help us to help the people of Thar both directly and indirectly by donating what is easy for you by western union. for information about making a donation please contact us or inform us on telephone numbers 021-32250452,0333-8869491, 0300-6628697 or through SMS. Thanking you and god bless you

I am
yours sincerely,
Nargis Latif (managing trustee Gul Bahao)

Sponsorship of the Publication: “OPPORTUNITIES UNLIMITED”

The year 2014 will be seeing the 20th year of Gul Bahao’s existence in the metropolis of Karachi. The last two decades of hard work and sacrifice have catapulted this organization into the International scene with both world organizations and media giving it enviable recognition. The following include some of them:

  1. Italian, French and Indian newspapers and a South Korean magazine
  2. CNN, Voice of America, BBC, ZeeTV etc
  3. Clinton Foundation, Ashoka (The undersigned is a life fellow of this American organization)
  4. UNDP, ILO, WSCC and Supreme Court of India
  5. German Nationals (including their Consul General)
  6. Pakistanis living in the Middle East, Britain and USA

Gul Bahao made its debut in 1994 with the clear objective of finding solutions to Karachi’s waste management problems. However, it has ended up with simple and cost effective ways to revive the economy through its innovations. Hundreds of youth were given jobs through its scheme of “Kutchra do Sona lo” which is in line with the organizations scheme of “Safai/Kamai Bank” – a futuristic banking system, where the instruments of banking are assorted municipal waste. Here let me recall the immense interest shown by BBC to this “Third world solutions to first world problems.” Twenty years of work and a whopping input of eight crore rupees (in 2002 Gul Bahao’s audited accounts showed an expenditure of 1 crore and ten lac rupees) yielded the following innovations:

  1. Chandi Technology. A modular block which interchanges into a two storeyed house, furniture(tables,beds,sofa), water reservoir as well as tarpaulins.
  2. Fuel Pack for producing cheap electricity
  3. Gardens in the Air. Multistoried fields in the manner of multistoried buildings and many more.

For details please visit our website: http://gulbahao.com. In other words there are a host of projects that can be given to our youth to pick and choose from, where a MINIMUM OF INVESTMENT WILL YIELD MAXIMUM PROFITS. Why is this so? Simply because the raw material used is easily available, even free of cost as it is considered “useless” or waste. Here let me put on record that much of the “useless” raw material is simply leftovers, often as good as virgin material.

Gul Bahao’s Research Center on main Rashid Minhas Road has been functioning there for the last 10 years or so and has been visited by local bodies institutions, bureaucrats, professionals, businessmen, students the print and electronic media etc. It is home to most of Gul Bahao’s innovations. This can provide a platform or training ground for any ambitious scheme like “Rozgar la Mehdood”.

Now you must agree that Gul Bahao can prove an asset to any democratic government which wants to depend on its own people for running its affairs. What is required at this point is that the government, business community as well as the educational institutes must come forward and make use of this facility and support it. Let me assure you that any help in this direction will go a long way in:

  1. resuscitating the economy
  2. decreasing the energy crisis
  3. giving our youth and more so our educated youth unlimited opportunities

On this occasion, when Gul Bahao is trying to consolidate its work of 20 years we are planning on a publication which will be listing, displaying and explaining the various innovations developed by us. The publication which is in English ,is to be used as a reference book and will be sent to:

  1. businessmen and organizations
  2. foreign diplomats
  3. educational institutions and professionals
  4. NGOs

The publication called “Opportunities-unlimited” will be launched on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the GUL BAHAO movement to be held in the month of February at the Arts Council. We would like you to sponsor an A-4 size book according to the following rates:

  1. Half page – Rs. 50,000 (Fifty thousand)
  2. Quarter page – RS. 30,000 (Thirty thousand)
  3. Your name in the list of sponsors – Rs.5,000 (Five thousand)

Money for the sponsorship may be paid in advance. Let me assure you that sponsorship of this program will go a long way in improving the socio-economic conditions of Karachi. What is more, it will also enable us to be a part of the world movement for a better Environment and betterment of mankind as a whole. Waiting for a quick reply.

I am,
Yours Sincerely,
Nargis Latif (Managing trustee Gul Bahao)