Dear people and friends from the KIRAN Village,

Since long time it was a dream of Sangeeta to build a house for the most needy children from the village, so that they have a home when they reach adulthood.

And myself, I had a dream to build an energy-efficient house in Asia, after I had built such in Europe, in America and in Africa.

Urban Zehnder, the President of the KIRAN Friends Association in Switzerland brought the two dreams together, since I know Urban since we went together in primary school in Zug.

The Abbe Pierre Foundation offered a big part of the money needed for this housing project, and Sangeeta was looking for an architect. On her trip to Switzerland in summer 2010 we met each other,  and so the two dreams became an idea.

In November 2010 I visited the KIRAN Village for the first time together with my wife Beatrice and so the idea became a concrete plan.

Back at home, with Simon, my architect partner, we drew a lot of plans, very very many plans, with developments and progress, with changes and corrections.

Professor Virendra from BHU kindly helped us to fix the construction, and so, in September 2011 the foundation works could start, and then we built.

But now, no more paper is needed: the house stands here in front of us. We can see and feel how it works:

- is the hose really cooler in summer times under the big protective roof ?
- Do the shutters really protect the rooms from the hot sunshine? But allow at the same time the sunlight
  to enter, so that we do not need electric light ?
- Is the air-circulation really better with the open high windows, so we do not use the ventilators ?
- And in wintertime, by the open shelters, is it really warmer inside the rooms behind the double
  glas-windows when the sun can shine directly into the rooms ?
- And will the warmth stay longer inside the rooms because of the thick three-brick walls ?
- And how will the warm feeling be from the fire-places which were built by Carlo and Luc
  in April this year ?

Antu and Dijo, I thank you very much for your cooperation in the realisation of this new building for the KIRAN Village.

I thank you for your patience with me, the sometimes too eager Swiss architect.

For me it was a beautiful time! It was almost like coming home to the KIRAN Village each time when I visited here, so as to build with you and the master mistry and all the masons and worker, with the “artist” welders Raju and Jitender, with the carpenter Ganesh and his collaborator, with the plumbers, the electricians, the carpenter and his men who made the windows. Also the gardeners who care for this beautiful environment. Thank you all.

I want to thank also for the support of Mr Giri, the Finance manager, for the help of the Didis who cared for me in the guest house, for Promila’s constant readiness to organize and help whenever needed.

I want to thank all the people from the KIRAN Village who create the special and extra-ordinary spirit of this place.  And I thank all the goddesses and gods who made it possible that we could build together this beautiful house.

I want to thank also the committee of the KIRAN Society who allowed us to build this house with you people from KIRAN and not with a strange construction company from town.

I don’t forget all the people in Europe who with so much concern and care collect and organize the donations for the KIRAN Village.

I am afraid I might have forgotten some persons, forgive me please.

But I do not forget Sangeeta who has the art for bringing people together and knows what needs to be done when people have different ideas, different views from different cultures, that they find each other and work together in spite of the differences, because it’s for the same purpose, for the KIRAN Village.

And now I wish all the young women, Baby, Anju, Reka and Asha, the joung man Ravi and all the people who will lives in this new house, a beautiful and healthy time.

THANK YOU

Ruedi Zai                                                                  Dev Divali, 28th Nov 2012