Terracotta creations of Pravat Kumar Chakraverty (right) at his Bagdigih residence in Dhanbad. Pictures by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad’s Pravat Kumar Chakraverty thinks reddish brown is the new green.

Pushing aside conventional materials like cement, iron bars and vitrified tiles, the 56-year-old Jorapokhar resident has embraced clay, hay, stone and bamboo to create terracotta dwellings.

The 56-year-old science graduate from Sindri College is at present engaged in building a three-storied, 1,400sqft house in Bengal’s Purulia, his fourth project of that magnitude though he has built many smaller add-ons for existing houses.

Chakraverty’s logic is sound. Not only are terracotta houses cheaper, they also conform to vastu tenets. “If a rainwater harvesting system is put in place and a solar panel erected, then the terracotta house will be a perfect example of a Green home,” he said.

He said if the floor was mopped with lemon grass and eucalyptus juice, then not only will the house remain cool, but free of insects as well.

According to him, while it takes around Rs 8 lakh to build a 1,000sqft dwelling using conventional materials, the cost is Rs 2 lakh less if the primary material is clay.

When Chakraverty set out to build his own house, he realised that most traditional mud home makers had switched profession after falling on hard times. “Construction of terracotta houses will help tackle the Naxalite problem as the traditional workers will get the opportunity to work and earn a living,” he said.

Chakraverty’s interest in terracotta and mud houses developed while he was in college. So passionate was he about making a difference with clay that instead of pursuing a conventional career, he took to making terracotta toys to sell on the roadside.

Among his customers was the then Dhanbad deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh, who in 2010 invited Chakraverty to decorate the newly-built Birsa Munda Park with terracotta artefacts.

What followed was a series of showpieces and a hut. The entire project was completed in a month with Rs 1.5 lakh.

To promote traditional terracotta work of Jharkhand and Bengal, Chakraverty runs Pathar Anchal Inherent Development Society (PAIDS) with its website www.paids.in.