Will you leave your apartment for a mud house? They did

One of the hallmarks of the legendary British-born Indian architect Laurie Baker was his use of local, cheap and renewable materials like mud bricks made from local clay. But then came the cement and steel era, and sustainable materials were forgotten. But now, earth or mud homes are finding favour again with those who want to go back to rustic living with a low carbon footprint.

One and a half years ago, Marie and her husband Dhiraj Chaudhari ditched city life to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle. With the help of architect Satyendra Bhagat, they built their dream home from locally sourced natural materials in their ancestral town of Mandu in Madhya Pradesh.