Viraj Puri's Page
Profile Information
- Wild Gift Affiliation:
- Recipient, Board Member
- Year of Wild Gift Award:
- 2004-05
- Current Address:
- New York, NY, USA
- Email Address:
- virajapod@gmail.com
- Conservation/Sustainability Areas of Interest:
- Ecological Design, Renewable Energy, Controlled Environment Agriculture, Green Building, Urban Sustainability, Sustainable Development
- Current Work Title:
- Project Manager, New York Sun Works Center for Sustainable Engineering; LEED AP
- Current Work Website:
- http://www.nysunworks.org
- Current Work Mission and Description:
- Integrated, ecologically-sound systems for the production of energy, food, and water.
Wild Gift Project
Project Title
EarthWorks
Mission, Goals, and Results
EarthWorks promotes development in Ladakh, India that is culturally and environmentally sensitive and sustainable. In partnership with The Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, EarthWorks founded a for-profit solar construction firm, Shesyon Solar Earthworks. SSE completed construction of a 10,000 sq.ft. passive solar building in 2005 that employed 25 skilled and unskilled Ladakhi's. In 2006, the firm built it's own headquarters, a model solar building. It has implemented an 18-month Solar Builder Course that targets school dropouts, half of them women. The goal of the course is to develop a team of "barefoot solar architects/ engineers". SSE's long term goal is to reduce human dependence on natural resources and fossil fuels by innovating solar mud habitats and other solar devices appropriate for high altitude, trans-Himalayan deserts. SSE is in its second year of operation and has earned over $100,000 in revenue. Viraj maintains communication with SSE while continuing his education in renewable energy technologies. He is presently working for the New York Sun Works Center for Sustainable Engineering, a non-profit organization that advances ecological sustainability through engineering research, demonstration, and education programs.
EarthWorks
Mission, Goals, and Results
EarthWorks promotes development in Ladakh, India that is culturally and environmentally sensitive and sustainable. In partnership with The Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, EarthWorks founded a for-profit solar construction firm, Shesyon Solar Earthworks. SSE completed construction of a 10,000 sq.ft. passive solar building in 2005 that employed 25 skilled and unskilled Ladakhi's. In 2006, the firm built it's own headquarters, a model solar building. It has implemented an 18-month Solar Builder Course that targets school dropouts, half of them women. The goal of the course is to develop a team of "barefoot solar architects/ engineers". SSE's long term goal is to reduce human dependence on natural resources and fossil fuels by innovating solar mud habitats and other solar devices appropriate for high altitude, trans-Himalayan deserts. SSE is in its second year of operation and has earned over $100,000 in revenue. Viraj maintains communication with SSE while continuing his education in renewable energy technologies. He is presently working for the New York Sun Works Center for Sustainable Engineering, a non-profit organization that advances ecological sustainability through engineering research, demonstration, and education programs.
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Are you planning on being in Boston for GreenBuild? Let me know...I am going to try to set up a wild gift meetup.
Hope all is well!
Lauren