Why Samskruti Hoysala is worth it!

Samskruti Hoysala is a bioclimatic boutique apartment promises to make sustainable living a reality. Points that differentiate Samskruti Hoysala are-

i.    Stronger Building- Designed to be seismic zone lll complaint structure, though it is not compulsory in Bangalore to withstand higher intensity earthquakes and has longer life span.

ii.   Water: Four kinds of water available, expected to be 70-80% self-sustainable:

i.      Rainwater harvesting targeting almost 100% collection of rain water and storm water

ii.     Potable water is supplied to all the taps (for drinking, cooking and other house hold activities)

iii.   Solar powered hot water in all the relevant taps

iv.  Grey and black water is recycled, used for gardening, car wash, flushing, etc. after appropriate treatment.

iii.  Energy- Energy efficient design

i.         Allows free circulation of air, natural light and ventilation, thereby reducing dependency on artificial lighting and ventilation.

ii.    Solar powered water purification + heating

iii.   LED lighting in common areas reduces excessive energy consumption.

iv.  Centrally placed cooking gas bank

iv.  Food*- We take veggiescaping seriously (fruits+vegetables+greens)

i.         With several integrated garden spaces, over 70% vegetable requirement is grown in-house.

ii.     Community kitchen reduces wastage, encourages interaction and celebrates food.

iii.   Automated systems for hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics ensure easier maintenance and continuous supply of food

*Introduced first time in Bangalore in a residential project.

v. Waste management-

                      i.     Waste is carefully collected, selected and recycled.

                    ii.     Wet waste is treated by biogas plant, used for fuelling community kitchen, heating water during winter.

                   iii.     Organic waste is treated and used as manure.  

v.   Material selection-

i.      Materials, fixtures and fittings are selected thoughtfully to ensure healthy luxurious living, longer life cycle, easier recycling

ii.     Non VOC paints are used

iii.  Materials sourced close to site so appropriate saving done on lead time. Enabling better carbon credit points

Call us to know more: 9916217777 or write to us: sales@samskruti.in

Why you need natural light!

We all need natural light to survive. Though artificial lighting helps in providing enough luminescence for us to work and live, it is the natural light that helps us stay alive. Natural light is the best disinfectant and is very pleasing and comforting to the eyes. When choosing a house, make sure you have natural lighting coming into the rooms and living areas, at least once in a while during the day. Preferably where you live most of the time. Several studies have shown that your productivity improves when you work in natural light and it improves your health. 

At Samskruti, we design homes with loads of natural lighting coming into your home and you would be amazed to see how low the power bill will be. Sunlight is one of the perennial sources of energy and it is a luxury to even see sunlight once in a while in the cluttered homes in Bangalore. We try to avoid that. Come and see our model flat and you would find how brightly lit they are and yet comfortable to stay in. Natural lighting is essential for our well being and Samskruti enables you to experience that. 

If you are already living in a home without access to sunlight, I would encourage you to check out options to see how to get sunlight in your home. May be painting lighter colors would help, may be painting a reflecting wall that allows light to stream in to your home can help. Check for options or seek expert help.

May you lead a healthy and productive life - Live the Samskruti way :)

For more information on our homes, write to us visit www.samskruti.in or call 99162 17777 today.  

Grow Share Grow

Access to clean, unadulterated, fresh vegetables at home, you can grow what you like and share them with friends and family.

Grow Share Grow #TheSamskrutiWay

Reconnect with the nature

Stay close to the nature. Stay close to soil, grass, plants, trees, fruits, vegetables, food, fresh air, chirping of the birds, insects where you can interact, learn and teach. 

How many trees do you have in your project?

How many trees do you have in your project? 

It is not the number of plants you have but the kind of plants that is important. Plants which would not just add to the ambiance but being more value. Plant fruit bearing trees that help bring in birds and provide food apart from providing shade and visual appeal. 

At Samskruti Builders, most of our trees are either fruit bearing or herbs with medicinal values.

#thesamskrutiway

Disposing waste

Disposal of waste is a major issue in Bangalore. We need to dispose waste responsibly to ensure the city, community and your home stays clean.

At Samskruti Builders, we try to solve this problem by:

1. Sort out wet, dry, recyclable and reusable waste
2. Wet, vegetable waste to be processed in the recycling plant to generate manure, natural gas...
3. Recyclable materials to be used accordingly - given away, recycled
4. Other waste is disposed responsibly

Reduce clutter, sort waste and dispose responsibly to help create a cleaner greener planet!

#thesamskrutiway

Living with plants

Have a lot of trees and plants in and around your house. 

Having a lot of plants around your house will help protect the house from elements apart from providing visual comfort and cleaner air.

At Samskruti Builders, our homes blend with plants and natural elements to create comfort and luxury.

Pool time for women!

How often do you hit the pool in your community?
Is the pool private or open?
What do you think the pool should be?

What is the use of a pool if women and elders cannot use it? No wonder most of the pools in various communities are dried up and dead.

At Samskruti Hoysala, we have a pool where women can use and so can elders. With privacy guaranteed, we are looking at more women hitting the pool to relax and exercise than men.

Speak to us to know more: Call 99162 17777 

Visit: www.samskruti.in 

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Top five plants everyone must have at home

The 5 plants That will improve your home air.

1. Areca palm: Removes CO2 and converts it into oxygen during the day
2. Lucky Bamboo: To attract health, happiness, love and abundance
3. Christmas Cactus: Gives off oxygen at night while most plants produce oxygen during the day, it is perfect for your bedroom, family room, or other spots that get a lot of evening action
4. Golden pothos or Devil's ivy: Removes formaldehyde & other chemicals from air
5. Snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue: Converts CO2 into oxygen at night

Using these plants has shown significant oxygen level improvements in real world situations. Having these plants in your home can increase blood oxygen levels by 1% in 10 hours. They can reduce headaches, eye irritation, asthma and other respiratory problems.

Reduce, recycle, reuse, dispose responsibly

Pollution might not hit you right now. Not just yet. Do not ignore as your children might not be just as lucky to dodge.

At Samskruti, we design homes with a futuristic outlook. This means you would depend more on natural resources and less on artificial, temporary solutions. By reducing the carbon footprint, recycling most of the water, waste and other resources, we look forward to building a smarter, safer tomorrow. A tomorrow where your children will still be able to watch and enjoy the beauty of nature you have today.

Chris Jordan has a shocking video here and I am just posting a small bit.

Speak to us to know more: 99162 17777 or visit us here: www.samskruti.in

Diary of a Samskrutian!

Line dry your laundry for better health!

Five reasons to line dry your clothes:

1. Saves money
2. Saves clothes
3. Saves water, energy
4. We go through less laundry
5. It's therapeutic



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Gerrit Botha's 15 ways to reduce food costs

Found this beautiful article to reduce food costs. A must read.

How’s your monthly food bill? Is it sustainable? We’re a family of five on a limited budget from a single income, so we are hawks on food costs. And we’re living in a world of increasing food insecurity, so that it becomes more and more important to consider how we obtain our food and at what price.

1. We keep a whiteboard on the fridge and as we run out of things, we put it on the board. This is the basis of that weeks grocery list and we don't buy things that are not on the list
2. We look at the sale flyers from the newspaper for the items we use and are out of to make up the grocery list and we clip coupons
3. We make up the grocery list by aisle
4. We try to stay to the exterior of the grocery store, where we buy diary, fresh fruit and veggies, frozen vegetables in bulk. Instead of bread we buy the flour, and now the wheat to mill, and make our own bread
5. And we stay away from the processed food and the junk food aisles
6. We don’t buy anything with pretty labels, we buy the no name brands in large quantities
7. We make stuff: we make our own pasta for example
8. We eat vegetarian: it's amazing to bypass an entire aisle
9. We buy strawberries and other fruits pears, blueberry, currants in season and make jam
10. When tomatoes are in season we buy bucketfuls of plum tomatoes and can them. We make salsa, spaghetti sauce, and tomato chili
11. We use a big chest freezer to store food
12. We grow anything we can, even in containers. This past summer we accidentally grew a squash in a container full of marigolds
13. We pickle cucumbers, beets, carrots and beans
14. We make cucumber and other relishes
15. Oh, and we eat out very rarely

Food security is such a big topic and we'll come back to it regularly. But it is important to start somewhere and this is our start. We have a long way to go and much more to do. I'd be very interested in what others are doing to keep food costs under control.

The best dish in the world

Is it really the ingredients which matter most?

Article by our intern Michael Duspiwa from Austria.

If you ask a person, what is the best food in the world, what answers do you get? This is of course not predictable as the individual preferences largely vary. In the United States some people may say “burger”, in Italy the majority might tell you “pasta” or “pizza”, and on the other hand in India some people may say “dosa” is the best food in the world. But what do all this dishes of the individual persons all over the globe have in common? 

From the outside it looks like those dishes have nothing in common, one is with meat and grilled the other is made in an oven and the third one has a similar shape to pizza, but is something completely different. Thus without further examination those have nothing in common, and a comparison among them might not lead to proper results. 

But what the majority of the people asked, will tell you is that it is the pasta cooked by their mum, the burger grilled by their father or the dosa prepared by their grandmother which is the most delicious food on the globe. Thus we associate food with much more than just eating and the taste, it is the person who prepares it and the environment of the meal which contributes its essential part to the perfect enjoyment. It is much more important with whom you eat the meal and who prepares it than the actual meal. 

Where does your family have lunch or dinner, always together or in front of the TV? Especially for kids it is an important part in their education and essential in their way to become a grown up. Thus this has to be preserved as it sticks with every person for the whole life. The dinner together is an important place to talk about school, work, problems, feelings and all other issues. Now imagine how much information among the family members will be exchanged, while eating in front of the television. Nearly nothing, right?

As on the whole world things are getting faster and faster, also the time available which is required preparing a full course meal decreases. Who is usually cooking for the whole family? Yes, most of the time the women in the house. Now the question comes up why they do not like to spend so much time anymore on cooking. The answer is rather simple: Because the father is at work and the kids sit in front of the TV, and the only person in the kitchen is the mother. 

 

By simply not making the kitchen a closed room and by removing all the walls, people are going to enjoy cooking much more as it was in former times. The meals get better, the time is used more efficiently and the community feeling is fostered. Summarizing, by removing your walls and by making one huge room out of living, dining, sleeping room and the kitchen, the best dish of the future generations is assured. 

Remove your walls, it does make a difference, just one single person has to start doing so!

Window farming!

Do you really want a neighbor? The importance of collaboration is shown here.

 

Besides the benefit of food, the cultivation of plants in the house is fairly relaxed and helping several mental health. For the millions of people who live in apartments and are really disconnected to the origins of their food, this model of production is excellent. Not only to help create more local food sources, but to bring a greater awareness among urbanites with respect to agricultural and environmental issues.

At Samskruti, we believe in community being the ultimate fibre that holds the families and cities together. Join us in rediscovering the value of citizens united, and to declare that we are all still pioneers.

Bengaluru: The water connection

Terrace Garden

Tossing and turning? With a plant in your bedroom/balcony, you’ll fall asleep faster, have fewer nighttime awakenings and enjoy a deeper sleep. Scientist say sleeping in space with lots of oxygen in the air increases the duration of deep sleep by 10% and even helps cure sleep apnea.

Most plants emit oxygen during the day, but some work night shift, absorbing toxins and carbon monoxide and giving off more pure oxygen at night, when you need it most!

We can help you select from plants that will accentuate the look and feel of your apartment. Apart from the oxygen, plants provide a rich, aesthetic and luxurious visual comfort and feel that is also natural and healthy.

At Samskruti, we ensure your indoor air quality is better by using materials with lower emissions, ample day-lighting, free air flow and lot of other factors. This allows a lot of fresh air to your rooms and more oxygen with lots of plants in your balcony.

All apartments at Samskruti Hoysala have a private designer family area with planters and green space which allows you to breath better, feel better and live better.


Pic is from here.

Control indoor pollutants

Tips that will help control indoor pollutants:

1. Test for radon and fix if there is a problem
2. Reduce asthma triggers such as mold and dust mites
3. Do not let people smoke indoors
4. Keep all areas clean and dry. Clean up any mold and get rid of excess water or moisture
5. Always ventilate when using products that can release pollutants into the air; if products must be stored following use, make sure to close tightly
6. Inspect fuel-burning appliances regularly for leaks, and make repairs when necessary
7. Consider installing a carbon monoxide alarm

At Samskruti, we ensure your indoor air quality is better by using materials with lower emissions, ample daylighting, free air flow and lot of other factors.

You live better when you breath better.


Read more tips here & image is from here.

Pay bills online

Pay as many bills as you can online. This saves your time, fuel, energy and is a smarter way to keep track.

Image is from here.

Home grown!

My grandfather was a freedom fighter and lived most of his life in a village barring few trips to a nearby town for an occasional movie. Yes, the good old black and white movies where the script and lyrics were more important than actors and music.After settling all his children he still stays in his village despite all of us inviting him to our homes. Every morning he wakes up early, takes a walk, collects milk from his cattle yard and then is fresh and ready by the time we usually wake up. He has a small piece of land where he grows paddy and toiled on his own. You might not believe it but he is more fitter than I am now!

Change of scene when he visits his daughter, my mother and it is fun to watch him fuss around the house with our comfort, if we are misguided to think it is, and keeps telling us what to do and what not. A part of him still looks at us as grand children who grew up on his shoulders in summers and accompanied to the fields for trips constantly asking him lots of questions to which he patiently answered. I love spending time with him as he is better than wikipedia!

When he saw our small home garden my mom tends to, he gets going. He cleans it, touches the plants, rips off leaves, adjusts the angles, provides support and weeds it while continuously telling us which plants to keep and why we should have tulsi leaves with tea, keep digging the soil and what natural manure we should use and so on. He doesn't mind eating brinjals every day of the week if it is from our garden. Every time he has the first morsel, we know what happens. If it is from our garden for him it tastes better and if it is from the supermarket, it doesn't. He can even taste plastic in which it is packed and pesticides and overall unhealthy feeling.

Over the years after I moved out of home for studies and years of living in hostels, I yearn for my mom's food. Don't know how many times, I had posted about my mom's food on facebook and orkut and how many likes I got :)

Every once in a while when someone is coming from home, I get a dabba. Home cooked food from mom and trust me there is nothing better. May be I have grown to appreciate it more now but it tastes 100 times better than the food I have had in the best of hotels. I don't have the measure but it tastes much better when the vegetables are from my home garden. I know it is healthy, tastes better, is cooked with love and affection. I also know it is smarter and more eco-friendly than what I buy from the supermarket.

At Samskruti, we want you to get an opportunity to have small happy moments that you miss or have no time for. Every home @Samskruti, either in Maurya or Hoysala or Indus Valley, have an option to have a terrace garden or a roof-top garden where you can grow vegetables, flowering plants and even fruits. This is not just for decorative purposes but for more aesthetic purposes than one.

You can teach your children, like we learnt and appreciate now more than ever, where their food comes from and how much effort goes into that. Research suggests that gardening is an excellent therapeutic tool and if it comes with several advantages, then why not! Skip the supermarket option and see if you can grow something in your backyard. More than the money you save, the joy you would get out of this would be priceless.