The place is somewhere near Puzhal lake. A few kilometres beyond Red Hills, we take a turn into village roads, an area without name boards. But driver Narayanan has no problem taking me to Samarpan, an eco-farm in Sarathu Kandigai village, Pammadukulam Panchayat, Ambattur Taluk. We reach the gate, drive past tall water towers to stop in front of a striking yellow house with a front verandah. Saying that it stands out — in that landscape of trees, saplings, open areas, earth mounds, plastic bottles and farm birds — is an understatement. And Romaine San Francesco, its frail-looking owner, could be the wood nymph.

We walk into her breezy living room. “We are standing on a raised platform of plastic bottles,” she says, making me jump. “The pre-fab house came in sections (roof, walls, steel-grids for roof and walls) on a truck from New Delhi, and a technical “threesome” grouted and assembled the house in three days.” I stamp my foot, and she laughs. “These houses are sturdy, insulated and cool. They can withstand high-velocity winds from the lake.”.........Read more

Source web page: The Hindu