Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew |
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วัดป่ามหาเจดีย์แก้ว
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Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew in 2011
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhist |
| District | Khun Han |
| Province | Sisaket |
| Location | |
| Architecture | |
| Groundbreaking | 1984 |
| Completed | 1986 |
| Materials | Glass bottles |
Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, also known as the Temple of a Million Bottles, is a special Buddhist temple in Thailand. It's located in Khun Han district, in Sisaket. What makes this temple amazing is that it's built from over 1.5 million empty bottles! Most of these are Heineken and Chang bottles. The monks started collecting bottles in 1984. It took two years to build the main temple. By 2009, about 20 buildings on the site were made in this unique way.
Why Build with Bottles?
The monks at Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew wanted to help the environment. They looked for a way to deal with waste and make their area greener. They decided that collecting glass bottles could turn trash into a building material. This helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions and keeps bottles out of landfills. It's a clever way to recycle and build at the same time!
How the Temple Was Built
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The main temple has a strong concrete center. The collected bottles are then used as the main building material. The monks mostly use green Heineken bottles and brown Chang bottles. After the monks started collecting bottles in 1984, the local government even sent more bottles to help.
It's not just the bottles that are used! The bottle caps are also put to good use. They are arranged to create beautiful mosaics.
By 2009, there were 20 buildings made from bottles at the temple site. Besides the main temple, these buildings include:
- A place for ceremonies.
- Several prayer rooms.
- The local water tower.
- Bathrooms for visitors.
- Raised bungalows where the monks live.
The main temple took two years to build. But since there were always more bottles available, the temple grounds kept growing. By 2009, over 1.5 million bottles had been used in the construction. This is why it's often called the "Temple of a Million Bottles." In 2015, a travel website called When on Earth even named it one of the top ten examples of sustainable architecture in the world.
It's interesting to know that about 50 years ago, the Heineken company thought about making their bottles so they could be used as building blocks. While that idea didn't happen for them, the monks at Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew found a way to make it work!
