Gul Bahao

Into the 21st century with new ideas from Gul Bahao

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.

Bottled Boat invented at Textile Institute of Pakistan

Yesterday, the CEO of Gul Bahao was invited as chief guest at Textile Institute of Pakistan (TIP). The occasion was the launching ceremony of a boat made from used pet bottles. Escorted by young female students of the institute, Nargis sat in the boat rowed by the girls. It was a delightful occasion for all those Karachites who had traveled from the heart of the city to witness the innovation.

The TIP is located at the edge of the city, near Ghaggar Phattak on 32 acres of land. It has been developed by a well known architect. Right in the middle of the lush greenery of the campus is a lake on which the boat was sailing. A good deal of mathematics must have gone into the “bottled boat” as even a strong wind failed to over turn it while the combined weight of the “passengers” did not sink it.

Then followed a number of speeches at an improvised public meeting place with the lake in the background. In her maiden speech, the student organizer of tip Ammna Shahzad revealed that she and a couple of like minded students were tired of seeing all kinds of garbage littering the idyllic campus. The main “culprits” she said were plastic pet bottles. Both the faculty and the students decided to do something about it. The result she said was the “bottled boat”.

Highly enthused by her boat trip on the campus lake, Nargis Latif reminded the audience consisting of faculty and students of the tip of the teenager James Watt who discovered the steam engine and hence ushered in the industrial revolution. She talked of the youthful Wright brothers who while trying to emulate birds trying to fly in the air ended up inventing the modern airplanes. She also spoke in detail how her urge to clean up the metropolis of Karachi landed her with 21st century concepts, innovations which “nobody in the world had ever imagined” she said and which are meant to make life cheaper and easier, she claimed.

Talking in a more serious vein, the Gul Bahao head pointed to the natural disasters afflicting Pakistan from time to time. She warned the well fed “burger class” that god forbid Karachi can “drown in a river of gutter water.” she reminded that not very long ago a 24 yr. Hour downpour resulted in high speed waves sweeping away peoples belongings in the shanty towns of the metropolis. This has also happened in the elite south she said. The cause cited was the clogging of the drainage system because of poor solid waste management for a metropolis of Karachi’s size she said research is indispensable for any proper solution of its waste management system.

In his presidential speech the head of the institute Mr. Zarar Zubair, agreed that the best way to acknowledge the student’s innovation is to market it.

In the end, amidst thunderous applause, Nargis was presented with a plaque by Mr. Zarrar Zubair. Later on as a token of honor a tree was planted in Nargis Latif’s name.

Zakaat for Gul Bahao

Dear Sir/Madam,  Aslama Alaikum.

This is to request you to give your Zakaat to Gul Bahao. As you are aware Gul Bahao has been working tirelessly for the upliftment of society since the last nineteen years. The circle of people being affected by its work is growing exponentially.

Thousands of people in Karachi have benefited from Gul Bahao’s scheme, “Kachra Do Sona Lo”. While Gul Bahao has discouraged scavenging from garbage dumps it has given the alternative of the Safai mein Kamai concept where wastage is bought and sold in a scientific and hygienic manner. Through this scheme Gul Bahao is fighting for its goal of employment unlimited. Poor people have been shown how to earn money honestly.

More than Twenty five lac rupees worth of Chandi Ghars (prefabricated shelters)  were put up in disaster affected areas of Mansehra, Muzzafargarh, Thatta, Awaran (Baluchistan) and Mithi (Tharparkar) during the last ten years. This also includes slum dwellers of Gulshan-e-Iqbal when their huts were burnt.

Our Research center which is also working as a Disaster Management Center has developed many other products and concepts of tremendous use to the common man. These include:

  1. Chandi block which is inter convertible into furniture, roofs, tarpaulins, shelters, small water reservoirs.
  2. Water purification technique.
  3. Cheap fodder for livestock
  4. Mobile toilets
  5. City farm

We have also conducted advocacy programs for the dissemination of authentic translations of the Holy Quran in three languages viz. Urdu, English and Sindhi. This has been in the form of exhibitions, producing cards, lectures, reading to the general public etc.

In order to achieve all this the organization has had to give tremendous sacrifices in terms of money, time and peace of mind.

We shall be extremely grateful if you would deposit your donation via 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,

Yours Sincerely,                    

Nargis Latif,

Managing Trustee,

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.