Sewage treatment in cities has been a state responsibility and it is only now, when the scale of the city grows and the treatment plants are not able to treat the sewage adequately that it has been made mandatory for sewage to be treated within the development. We believe that sewage is a resource and must not be wasted. While it is an effort to treat it and recycle it and the process is not without problems, it is definitely the way forward in the conservation of water. A lot of solutions are possible to treat sewage and they need to be selected depending on the context. We have been using a DEWATS system for the treatment of sewage.The fundamental criteria for choosing the DTS is that it is an environment friendly and low maintenance waste water treatment option for treating the domestic black and grey water. The system is not dependant on electricity for its treatment and its installation cost is comparable to conventional STP. The treated effluent conforms to the approved norms and can be utilized for secondary use like toilet flushing and irrigation of the landscape. The consumption of water through this process can be brought down by about 30%.

The design of the landscape focuses on creating “places” in the campus, the character being developed through variations of function, material or feature. An important element of this is the balancing of the ecology with the landscape. Water bodies are planted with species that will encourage insects and birds to visit, Butterfly host plants and others which host bees create a buzz! An emphasis is on native species, but a balance being brought about by culinary and exotics. Care is taken that invasive species are not planted, and very water intensive species are also avoided as far as possible. The landscape attempts to create themes of fruit trees, culinary herbs and trees, vegetable gardens, bird and butterfly host species, plants and trees of medicinal value and traditional species; reflecting sometimes forgotten cultural values. Planting timber species is another focus, and we believe that timber is one of the most sustainable materials. Weneed to plant trees for it to be available as a building material of the future. Balancing the ecology along with the landscape design, a contemporary expression, which is neither forest nor urban park, but attempts a blend which we can learn from.

The approach for passive solar has been different in the different places we have built. In Bangalore the climate is less humid and the need for light is greater than that of ventilation. Larger expanses of glass which bring in light are used. In Kerala with high humidity and heat, the emphasis is on insulating the walls and roof and increasing the air flow. In all cases, the ambient temperature and quality of air achieved within the space will be a marginal improvement from what is prevalent outside at the time. One cannot expect air conditioned levels of temperature by this method. We also feel that air conditioning is harmful for human health and for the environment, developing a tolerance to the temperature around is important. Provision of a double roof reduces heat gain and the temperature within the home was approximately 4 - 5 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. Skylights which are double glazed reduce the heat entering through the skylight. Air ventsair vents at the higher end of the roof allow the hot air to escape.
An adequate tree cover around the buildings shade them and reduce the absorption of heat.

Provisions are made in individual houses of most of our communities for converting to solar power as and when desired. The internal house wiring is linked to an inverter which has a conduit laid to the roof. Solar panels can be installed on the roof and connected through this conduit. Solar geysers for hot water are mandatory and are installed on the roofs, individually.