Tag Archives: Himachal Pradesh

Didi Contractor receives Nari Shakti Puraskar from President of India

Didi Contractor Receives India’s Highest Civilian Honor for Women

On International Women’s Day of 2019, Didi Contractor, co-founding Professor Emeritus of the Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture at Dharmalaya Institute, was presented with the Nari Shakti Puraskar, India’s highest civilian honor recognizing women who have made great contributions to India. The award was presented by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.

Happy family

Dharmalaya Institute’s Autumn 2018 Season Begins with Reflections on Compassion

After the invigorating monsoon season, autumn is a natural time for reflective engagement as we return outdoors to work with the earth. Dharmalaya Institute’s autumn 2018 program season began with a five-day silent meditation retreat, led by mindfulness trainer Ellen van Iersel from the Netherlands, which set a contemplative tone. We then welcomed a lovely […]

Didi Contractor Film

Film on Earthen Building Featuring Earthville Project Debuts at DIFF

After years in the making, a new feature-length documentary film entitled “Didi Contractor: Marrying the Earth to the Building” premiered at the 2016 Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) in India. Directed by Steffi Giaracuni of Switzerland, the film explores the life and work of acclaimed earthen architect (and artist and designer) Didi Contractor, whom some […]

Window of opportunity

Announcing Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture

The Dharmalaya Institute, in partnership with venerated earthen architect Didi Contractor, is launching the Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture. The internship is a formal, academically-supervised service-learning program designed to provide architects (and students of architecture) with both practical experience and deeper theoretical knowledge in the arts and practices of sustainable building.

Dharmalaya Institute

Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living

Dharmalaya Institute is devoted to education and empowerment for compassionate living, with a practical focus on sustainable village development, contemplative service-learning, and immersive ecotourism. Tradition + Innovation = Sustainability, Health & Joy Dharmalaya’s mission is to unite the best of traditional wisdom with creative innovation to produce compelling possibilities for compassionate living and sustainable development. […]

Happy Sapling

Planting a Vertical Orchard

This week, during our first service retreat program (see news article) on the Dharmalaya Institute’s new Himalayan eco-campus, we had a precious opportunity: our friends at SanghaSeva brought sixteen wonderful, hard-working volunteers from all over the globe to work with us, so we figured this was the time to take on…