Preventive maintenance of an Himalayan earthen temple and studies on its reduced scale model

Kanji vernacular technology displays typical features of earthen architecture (Bertagnin 2005b).

Over a stone basement, the bearing masonry of the walls is normally made of earthen blocks, called pakbu. The earth used for pakbu and the subsequent layer of plaster, is very clayey. It is important to observe the totally lack of straw or other strengthening vegetable fibers, in the earthen mixture prepared for the pakbu production. In the interior, the vernacular buildings have a wooden structure serving as the support for the roof. The addition of sand and stones in the pakbu and the earthen roofing is a normal practice.