Monks build temple out of beer bottles

Agencies

London: Monks in northeast Thailand have built a temple out of one million recycled beer bottles, using them for its walls and roof.

The temple called Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, which is also known as Wat Lan Kuad or 'the Temple of a Million Bottles', is in Sisaket province near the Cambodian border, 400 miles from the capital Bangkok.

Collection of the bottles by the Buddhist monks had begun in 1984, and after they amassed a huge number, they decided to use them as building material.

The monks have created a complex of around 20 buildings using the beer bottles, and they are encouraging the local authorities to send them more.

"The more bottles we get, the more buildings we make," the Telegraph quoted Abbot San Kataboonyo as saying.

The complex comprises of the main temple over a lake, crematorium, prayer rooms, a hall, water tower, tourist bathrooms and several small bungalows raised off the ground, and which serve as the monks' quarters.

As per the monks, the bottles, which are a mixture of green Heineken bottles and brown Thai beer Chang, do not lose their colour, provide good lighting and are easy to clean.

The building has a concrete core to strengthen it and the eco-friendly monks have created mosaics of Buddha using the recycled beer bottle caps.

The temple has been constructed out of 1.5 million recycled bottles, and the monks intend to use reuse more for the building, which is now on an approved list of eco-friendly sightseeing tours in southeast Asia.