We are happy to share this update from Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living, the Earthville Network’s eco-campus in the Indian Himalayas.

NEW DELHI: 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.

The Nari Shakti Puraskar was established in 1999 to recognize the contributions of women and of organizations supporting women’s empowerment.

The award, which carries a cash prize of INR 100,000, was conferred upon Didi in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the field of ecologically sensitive architecture. The award was also given to 43 other women this year.

Didi began collaborating with Dharmalaya Institute in 2009, first by contributing the architectural design for the main building of the Dharmalaya Institute’s Himalayan campus, and then later through a three-year partnership to develop the Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture.

In the video of the award ceremony (below) from the President of India’s YouTube channel, Didi is called to receive the award at approximately four minutes and thirty seconds into the video.

You can read more about vernacular eco-architecture here, and more about the Internship in Vernacular Eco-Architecture here.

Would you like to join us? You can find our schedule of Dharmalaya Institute’s upcoming programs on the bottom half of the Dharmalaya homepage.