I renovated the dhuni in 2021, using recycled glass bottles line the floor as insulation, slate rocks as tiles on the floor and thin shimmery rocks (collected over years from the sacred Saryu River) to mosaic the walls at Uma Giri Kutir at Taptkund Mahadev Mandir.

During the monsoon lots of water flows under the temple complex and the entire cow-dung mud floor stayed wet all season. Returning after being stuck somewhere else during the pandemic, the dhuni seemed so run-down I didn’t want to sit there.

Lining the first layer with glass bottled helped insulate the floor from the water that flows underneath throughout the monsoon, which was making the mud and cow-dung floor constantly wet throughout that season.  This project was completed in October after the rains stopped, just in time for the colder months. If I kept the fire burning throughout the day, the bottles kept the floor warm as well.

It took me three days to tear down the mud and gobar (cow-dung) walls and dig up nearly a foot of mud from the floor. Not to mention the years of rummaging through ditches to find glass bottles for the floor insulation.

In total this project took almost three weeks and over 15000₹ cost in materials and labor. I hired my next door neighbor, a professional mason, who does work all around the district, and worked as his apprentice. I collected and carried sand / pebbles from the river’s edge up to the verandah, learned how to sift it and mix it with the correct proportions of cement to create both concrete for the layer over the plastic tarp, as well as smooth cement for the tiles.

Below you can see the work in progress photos.