Environment-friendly bricks to be made in Rajshahi

Environment-friendly bricks will be produced by using Japanese technology in Rajshahi. For the experimental production of these bricks, samples of riverbed sand from Mongla, Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Godagari areas of the district have been collected.

The process of making the bricks has started using a mechanized machine. These bricks will be ready for use within 10 days. Afterward, these will undergo rigorous quality tests.
The information was given in a workshop held in Namovadra area's Akafuzi nursery on Sunday.

The process of brick production traditionally requires soil. Soil is collected from various agricultural lands to form the clay mixture. The clay bricks are then sun-dried and fired in a kiln to attain the characteristic red color. This process creates one piece of brick.

However, in the new process, soil won't be used, instead, riverbed sand, polythene, cement, and a specific type of chemical substance will be combined to produce the bricks. These bricks, unlike clay bricks, will be crushed into small pieces for construction purposes. The cost of manufacturing these bricks will be lower compared to clay bricks, as they require fewer materials. Moreover, the fear of land erosion won't exist if these bricks are used. Houses built with these bricks will also be less heat-absorbent compared to traditional clay bricks. This is the claim of Japanese engineers.

Upon successful testing, JICA will implement the project in Bangladesh. JICA engineers hope that through the production of these bricks, high-quality employment will be created in Bangladesh, the quality of life will improve, air pollution and global warming will decrease, and agriculture and rural life will improve.

According to the engineers, the eco-friendly bricks made with Japanese technology and cement bricks made in Bangladesh are not the same.

Japanese engineer Ichihashi Yuichi described how to make environment-friendly bricks without burning soil. He said, "Soil is the main raw material for making bricks in Bangladesh. No soil will be used in making these bricks.The main ingredients of this brick are sand deposited in the river and a little clayey silt from the river and cement to make these bricks. With only one chemical product to be used.''

M Monjur Hossain, project coordinator, said, ''About 25,000 crore bricks are produced in Bangladesh every year. The amount of topsoil used in the production of this amount of bricks is alarming. Because crops grow on the surface soil. The top 12 inches of soil is fertile for crop cultivation. Once topsoil is removed from farmland, it takes about 100 years to build up naturally.''

Around 4000 million tons of filled sand is deposited in Padma and Jamuna rivers from India every year. So there will be no shortage of raw materials for making eco-friendly bricks. A very small amount of river clay silt will be used along with this filled sand to make eco-friendly bricks. Only 2 kg of clay loam will be used with 100 kg of packed sand, Manjur Hossain added.

FA/SR