Dipshikha METI School, Rudrapur
A village school built by hand from mud and bamboo.
Birol, Dinajpur district, Rangpur Division
In Rudrapur village the NGO Dipshikha runs a school under its METI programme (Modern Education and Training Institute). Its two-storey building was designed by the architects Anna Heringer and Eike Roswag and put up by local craftsmen, teachers and pupils using the mud and bamboo of the village itself. It won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007 and is known to architects around the world. Be clear about what it is before you set out: a small, working primary school in a quiet village, not a tourist site. There are no tickets, guides or displays, and it is seen in well under an hour, so it is a stop to add to a day around Dinajpur, not a trip of its own.
What to see
The school building
The ground floor has thick walls of earth mixed with straw; the upper floor is a light frame of bamboo. Notice how different the two feel: solid and cool below, open and full of light above, with brightly coloured doors and cloth.
The caves behind the classrooms
Behind the ground-floor classrooms are small rounded hollows moulded in earth, made for children to crawl into to read or be alone. They are the part of the building people remember.
The DESI building
On the same campus, a later building in the same mud and bamboo, put up for Dipshikha's vocational training of electricians.
Anandaloy
The newest building, also by Anna Heringer, with curving mud walls and a long ramp winding round it. It houses a therapy centre for people with disabilities and a textile workshop, and won the Obel Award in 2020.
How to go round
Go to the office first, say why you have come and ask leave to look round; where you may go is for the school to decide, and you should not expect to enter classrooms while lessons are on. Then walk round the outside of the school building, go in and up if you are allowed, and see the DESI building and Anandaloy before you leave. Forty-five minutes is enough.
Make the most of it
- Get in touch with Dipshikha before you go if you want to be sure of seeing inside.
- Walk a little in Rudrapur itself: the village's own mud houses are what the school grew out of.
- See it on the same day as Dinajpur Rajbari and the Kantajew Temple, so the journey is worth it.
Getting there
From Dinajpur town take the road towards Birol. Reserve an auto-rickshaw or CNG for the trip there and back, as you may not find a vehicle in the village for the return.
Good to know
- Do not photograph the children without permission, and do not disturb lessons.
- Do not count on finding a hotel or restaurant in the village; eat and stay in Dinajpur town.
How to get to Dinajpur from Dhaka
- By bus
- From Gabtoli or Kallyanpur
- By train
- Ekota, Drutojan or Panchagarh Express from Kamalapur
- By air
- Fly to Saidpur and go on by road
Where to stay
Parjatan Motel, Dinajpur