Passive Solar New Buildings for the Rural Areas in Kyrgyzstan
 

History
In the course of a project¹ on insulation improvement of rural buildings in Kyrgyzstan in 2002, the need for the introduction of an energy efficient building method for new constructions became apparent; the IEBau² therefore worked out a proposal for the introduction, testing and adaptation of non load bearing straw-bale building method in Kyrgyzstan.

 
Project Goal
The project covered three elements: the construction of a pilot straw bale building for demonstration purpose, the organization of a theoretical and practical course on straw bale construction and the creation and support of a local Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings:

 
Project Achievements
 
Straw-Bale Demonstration Building
A communal hall was built in the village of Tschardi Su, approximately 70 km from Bishkek, in collaboration with three village inhabitants and six KSUCTA students under the supervision of Oekofacta GmbH, a Swiss consultant agency who had previously led the retrofitting project. The construction, which consists of a little lavatory and a meeting hall, was erected in three months in non load bearing building method. This means that the straw bales have merely an insulating function while the roof loads are supported by a timber stud construction; diagonally mounted stabilisation slats ensure the stability of the structure against horizontal loads.
Even though the construction faced different difficulties due to lack of know-how and missing tools, the building was successful and is well appreciated by the local population, a responsible from the village community was elected to take care of the structure and a manual on its proper use was compiled by CAMP with the support of KSUCTA and Oekofacta GmbH.
 
Course
The course consisted in lectures on passive solar and straw bale construction followed by a workshop on the site of an almost completed demonstration building. The event attracted an interested and heterogenic audience composed by about 50 students and tutors from the KSUCTA and had positive feedbacks. The participation of a delegation from the TTU³ of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, headed by Prof. Suleimanov, offered the opportunity to introduce the exposed technologies in Tajikistan.
 
Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings – Central Asia
The successful realisation of new buildings and insulations and the positive reaction towards energy efficient by the local population and authorities encouraged the creation of an autonomous centre for the research and development of the introduced technologies. This was realized in 2005 under the form of a foundation, named CEEBA⁴, which involved some of the KSUCTA students participating in the prototypes and courses. In the meantime CEEBA has already successfully retrofitted several buildings and built new passive solar buildings for different organisations, among others a new vestry with straw insulation for the village of Tshormoksarkoni Tadjik in Tajikistan, commissioned by the IEBau.

 
Project perspectives
In 2007 a comprehensive energy study for the SECO⁵ will be completed by the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Bern. The goal is to evaluate feasibility, relevance and cost effectiveness of energy efficiency measures in Kyrgyzstan. In the case of a positive judgement the base will be given to implement the insulation techniques in a large scale and to develop further energy efficiency measures and technologies. The IEBau and the KSUCTA are integrated in the study group and can bring in their experiences in the scope of energy efficiency projects.

 
Contact: