Sustainable, decent housing and livelihood for poor and marginalised people in Malur, India
part 1 BERN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES SWITZERLAND Bettina Steuri and Gionatan Vignola
BERN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES | SWITZERLAND
Part 1 of the bachelor thesis with the subject: Sustainable, decent housing and livelihood for poor and marginalised people in Malur, India
Students: Bettina Steuri Gionatan Vignola
Coach: Professor J端rg Grunder Head of IN:CH Transcultural Sustainability Platform India Architect, MD IN:CH architects and planners pvt ltd Co-examiners: Lecturer Ulrika Tromlitz | Architect dipl. CTH SIA / Exec. MBA HSG Professor Peter Sch端rch | Architect SIA, SWB
Bangalore - India, April 6 th 2012
As discussed with the head of department, Fritz Häubi, our dissertation is integrated into this document. The „addendum“ is not included.
Hereby is certified that the present work has been written entirely by us. All the citations are described as footnotes and in the bibliography. Hiermit versichern wir, dass wir die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig und ohne Verwendung anderer als der in den Fussnoten und im Anhang angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel angefertigt haben.
Bangalore, April 6 th 2012 Bettina Steuri and Gionatan Vignola
INDEX
5 INTRODUCTION 5
WHY INDIA?
7
GENERAL CONTEXT
7 A FIRST GLIMPSE OF INDIA 9 POPULATION 10 INFRASTRUCTURE & FIGURES 11 WATER & SANITATION 12 EDUCATION 13 HEALTH 14 WOMEN 15 CHILDREN 16 AGRICULTURE 17 CONCLUSION
21 CASE STUDY MALUR 21
WHAT IT‘S ALL ABOUT?
23
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS
24 THE KOLAR DISTRICT - The land of silk, milk and gold 24 MALUR TALUK - The region of Malur 26 RESOURCES 28 INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES 30 HOUSING
33 PLAYERS 33 IN:CH | Architects and planners 34 HABITAT FOR HUMANITY 35 BELAKU 36 END USER
37 STUDENTS 38 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE PARTIES 39 CONCLUSION
41 END USERS‘ PORTRAITS AND DATA 44 48 52 56 60 64
THE THE THE THE THE THE
MUNIYAPPA FAMILY MURALI FAMILY VENKATESH FAMILY PUTTARNA FAMILY OBALAPP FAMILY GOPAMMA FAMILY
71
MALUR TODAY
71
COMPLEXITY OF THE REGION
74
SWOT ANALYSIS
76 INTERNAL STRENGTHS 77 INTERNAL WEAKNESSES 78 EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES 79 EXTERNAL THREATS 82 CONCLUSION
83 STRATEGIES 84 DEPLETING WATER TABLE 87 CAPITALISED SOIL 89 INSUFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE 92 HOUSING 94 OBSCURE MACHINATIONS 96 SOCIAL STRATISFACTION 98 CONCLUSION
99 SOLUTIONS 104
ASSEMBLING OF OUR THESIS
109 CONCLUSION
113 TEAM PROCESS 113 114 115
TEAM ORGANISATION WORKING METHODS WORKING PROCESS
119 CREDITS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 119 CREDITS 119 SOURCES
123 APPENDIX
page 4
INTRODUCTION
WHY INDIA? We have already spent the spring semester 2011 in India. We have made so many interesting experiences, spent wonderful moments in different parts of the country with different people, met many new friends and enjoyed many other things. The opportunity we got last year was great and we were looking forward to seeing this country again. The country, its people and its culture had a tremendous influence on our thinking, understanding and way of behavior. We are now able to understand things better - things which happen in Switzerland and all over the world. Our acceptance towards unknown situations has grown and now we see more clearly why things are how they are. All in all we can say that the in:ch semester 2011 had and still has a huge influence on us. An influence we don’t want to miss now. We are grateful that we got the chance to take part in this program. At the beginning of the fall semester 2011 we started to think about our upcoming thesis. There were some interesting programs in Switzerland that we could have participated in. But India was still very present in our minds and we were still in close contact with Jürg Grunder, the initiator of the IN:CH semesters. While having a glass of wine and discussing possible thesis projects we always came back to our Indian experiences and so we decided to ask Jürg Grunder if he had a project for our thesis. After exchanging some emails and calls in skype, all was set and we had the chance to go back to India! That was great news, we were happy and couldn’t wait to enter the airplane. We tried to prepare ourselves for the renewed Indian experience. We read a lot of literature, ate spicy food, bought some Swiss food against the possible “Indian food Hangover”, …, just to name a few. But back in India, everything turned out different than we had expected. But that‘s India. Everything and the contrary of everything!
page 6
1 The chicken is missing Fort Cochin | 2012
INTRODUCTION GENERAL CONTEXT
A FIRST GLIMPSE OF INDIA In this first chapter we will give a short overview about India. Foreigners who are staying in this country – maybe also the Indians themselves - will be surprised every day by new and unexpected things. It is almost impossible to define the tremendous diversity of India without excluding some elements. Indianness – how can we define this word? In India there are 1652 spoken languages and dialects, a huge variation of religions, different linguistic groups, 1.2 billion inhabitants and not to forget the many thousands of ethnic groups and casts. Several groups in this country tried to define India along a particular topic, for example the language. In 1951 Hindi was declared the national language, because nearly 41% of the inhabitants are able to speak it. But this was not accepted by the people of Tamil Nadu, a state in the south of India. Their common language is Tamil and they refused to accept Hindi as the national language. India has such a diverse pool of different languages that it seems to be impossible to declare a single one to be the official one. Each ethnic group has its own mother tongue and felt offended by this attempt. 1 If someone attempts to unite India along a particular fact, someone or something will always be excluded. The result will never be a holistic one – India is just too diverse. We think all the parties have to be respected and India should be proud of its enormous variety. Mark Twain described the situation pretty well: “So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked.“ 2 Therefore it would be impossible to include all the facts and figures about India in this brief chapter of our documentation. We decided to find out the most interesting figures and topics which are related to our project.
1 Chacko, S.: Defining Indianness, 20.03.2012, http://geography.about.com/od/indiamaps/a/Defining-Indianness.htm 2 Twain, M.: In Praise of India- 30 Famous Quotations about India and Hinduism, 20.03.2012, http://hinduism.about.com/od/history/a/indiaquotes_2.htm
page 8
2 Map of India
AFGHANISTAN
Shrinagar
PAKISTAN
CHINA
Chandigarh New Delhi
Jaisalmer
NEPAL BHUTAN
Agra Varanasi
Ahmedabad
Mumbai
BANGLADESH
Bhopal
INDIA
Calcutta
BURMA
Hyderabad
Bangalore
Chennai Pondicherry
Cochin Kovalam
Port Blair
Madurai
SRI LANKA
100km
500km
1‘000km
N
INTRODUCTION - GENERAL CONTEXT
POPULATION
Use of mass media, adolescents (15- 19), who use at least one type of mass media once a week | 2000- 2010 female 72% male 88% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Religions | 2010 Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4% Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9% other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1%
Literacy | people over 15 who can read and write | 2001 female 47.8% male 73.4% total 61%
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/geos/in.html | 20.03.12
Population annual growth rate 1970- 1990 2.3 1990- 2010 1.7 2010- 2030 1.1
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/in.html | 20.03.2012
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
Life expectancy at birth 1970 49 1990 58 2010 65 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Population | 2010 total 1‘224‘614‘000 under 18 447‘309‘000 under 5 127‘979‘000 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Age structure | 2011 (estimated) 0- 14 29.7% female 165‘415‘758 15- 64 64.9% female 372‘719‘379 65+ 5.5% female 33,998,613
=> 46.9% => 48.3% => 52.4%
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html | 20.03.2012
male 187‘450‘635 male 398‘757‘331 male 30,831,190
=> 53.1% => 51.7% => 47.6%
page 10
INF RASTRUC TURE & FIGURES
Area of total land water
India 3‘287‘263 km 2 2‘973‘193 km 2 314‘070 km 2
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html | 20.03.2012
Elevation extremes lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m highest point Kanchenjunga 8‘598 m https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html 20.03.2012
Urbanisation | 2010 urban 30% rural 70%
Internet | 2009 users 61‘338‘000 hosts 6‘738‘000
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html |
world-factbook/geos/in.html |20.03.2012
Telephones | 2010 main lines 35‘090‘000 cellular 752‘000‘000
Transportation | 2010 railways 63‘974 km roadways 3‘320‘410 km waterways 14‘500 km heliports 40 airports 352
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html
factbook/geos/in.html | 20.03.2012
20.03.12
20.03.2012
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-fact-
Land boundaries total 14‘103 km border to Bangladesh 4‘053 km border to Bhutan 605 km border to Burma 1‘463 km border to China 3‘380 km border to Nepal 1‘690 km border to Pakistan 2‘912 km
book/geos/in.html | 20.03.2012
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html | 20.03.2012
Population | major cities | 2009 New Delhi 21‘720‘000 Mumbai 19‘695‘000 Kolkata 15‘294‘000 Chennai 7‘416‘000 Bangalore 7‘079‘000
INTRODUCTION - GENERAL CONTEXT
WATER & SANITA TION
Water consumption | 2007 Mumbai 191 liters per person Ahmedabad 171 liters per person Bangalore 74 liters per person Bhopal 72 liters per person average 123.3 liters per person A consumption of about 100 to 120 liters per day and person seems accurate. Ii is enough to provide health and hygiene requiremets and low enough to conserve resources. http://www2.adb.org/documents/reports/Benchmarking-DataBook/Part1.pdf 20.032012
638‘000‘000 Indians still don‘t have proper access to basic sanitary facilities. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/world/lafg-india-toilets22-2010mar22 | 23.03.2012
Water supply during the day / 2007 Chandigarh 12 hours Kolkata 8.3 hours Bhopal 1.5 hours Rajkot 0.33 hour average 4.3 hours The urban poor are affected the most. They cannot afford a dual system with individual storage and pumping in the home. http://www2.adb.org/documents/reports/Benchmarking-DataBook/Part1. pdf | 21.03.2012
None of the 35 Indian cities with a population of more than one million people, have the performance indicators which compare with average international standards. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/exter nal/default/ WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/05/03/000012 009_20060503095630/Rendered/INDEX/36065.txt 20.03.2012
Approximately 700‘000 Indians die each year from diarrhoea. http://www.enotes.com/topic/Healthcare_in_India 23.03.2012
In 2003 only 30% of the wastewater was being treated. The remaining water ended uo in rivers, canals, groundwater or the sea. http://www.enotes.com/topic/Healthcare_in_India#cite_note-lat-25 | 23.03.2012
page 12
EDUCATION
84% of the Indian schools have drinking water facilities. 65% of the Indian schools have common toilets. 54% of the Indian schools have separate toilets for girls. http://www.unicef.org/india/education.html | 20.03.2012
Indian children have the right to have at least one qualified teacher for every 30 pupils. At the moment the national average is 34 pupils per teacher. But in states like West Bengal or Madhya Pradesh one teacher takes care of 60 pupils. h t t p : / / w w w. u n i c e f . o r g / i n d i a / e d u c a t i o n . h t m l 20.03.2012
To guarantee one teacher for 30 children, approximately 1‘200‘000 additional teachers have to be recruited.
Primary school participation | 2005-2010 female 81% male 85% Secondary school participation | 2005-2010 female 49% male 59% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Youth (15-24 years) literacy rate | 2005-2010 female 74% male 88% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/
20% of the primary school teachers aren‘t well grounded in academic knowledge. The children are suffering from insufficient teaching.
INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21493265~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSite
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_
PK:295584,00.html | 19.03.2012
statistics.html | 20.03.2012
20.03.2012
The number of out-of-school children decreased from 25 million in 2003 to an estimated 8.1 million in 2009.
INTRODUCTION - GENERAL CONTEXT
HEALTH
% of population using improved sanitation facilites | 2008 urban 54 rural 21 total 31 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Hospital bed density | 2005 0.9 beds per 1‘000 people https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/in.html | 21.03.2012
In the beginning of 2012, India was polio free for the first time in its history.
Estimated adult (15-49) HIV prevalence | 2009 0.3% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
h t t p : / / w w w. a l j a z e e r a . c o m / n e w s /
% of population using improved drinking water sources | 2008 urban 96 rural 84 total 88
asia/2012/01/201211371212764515. html | 23.03.2012
annual number of births | 2012 27‘165‘000
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statis-
20.03.2012
tics.html | 20.03.2012
Total fertility rate | average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime 1970 5.5 1990 3.9 2010 2.6
% of infants with low birthweight | 2006-2010 total 28 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
Prevention among young people (15-24), who used condom at last sex | 2005-2010 female 22% male 37%
Currently, there are about 51 births in India in a minute.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/india-current-population.html | 20.03.2012
20.03.2012
page 14
WOMEN
Marital status, Adolescents (15- 19), who are currently married 2000- 2010 male 5% female 30% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Age at first birth, women (20- 24) who gave birth before 18 | 2000- 2010 22% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Adolescent birth rate, number of births per 1‘000 girls aged 15- 19 45 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
Contraceptive prevalence | 2006- 2010 54% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
Delivery care coverage | 2006- 2010 skilled attendand 53% institutional delivery 47% c- section 9% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
Sex Ratio, amount of females per 1‘000 males | 2011 Haryana 877 Chandigarh 818 Kerala 1084 average 940
Antenatal care coverage | 2006- 2010 at least once 75% at least four times 51%
http://www.mapsofindia.com/census2011/female-
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html
sex-ratio.html | 23.03.2012
20.03.2012
20.03.2012
Justification of wife- beating, adolescents (15- 19), who think a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances female 53% male 57%
Maternal mortality rate per 10‘000 live births 2001- 2003 301 2004- 2006 254
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html | 20.03.2012
27~theSitePK:295584,00.html | 19.03.2012
http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21461167~pagePK:141137~piPK:1411
INTRODUCTION - GENERAL CONTEXT
CHILDREN
Sex- selective abortion in India 2001 6‘000‘000 fewer girls than boys 2011 7‘100‘000 fewer girls than boys http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/world/asia/25india.html | 23.03.2012
Annual number of under- 5 deaths | 2010 1‘696‘000 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
Child marriage | 2000- 2010 married by 15 18% married by 18 47%
Infant mortality rate (under 1) 1990 81 2010 48 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
Children (0- 5), who are suffering from underweight | 2000- 2006 moderate and severe 43% severe 16% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
Especially in northern India child labour is an accepted practice. The local population perceives it as a necessary practcice to alleviate poverty. h t t p : / / w w w. u n i c e f . o r g / i n f o bycountry/india_statistics.html 20.03.2012
html | 20.03.2012
India has the largest number of working children in the world. That means forced labour, lack of sleep, low wages, no education, spare free time, extreme working hours, no privacy, sexual abuse, ...!
Child labour | 2000- 2010 female 12% male 12% total 12% http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_ statistics.html | 20.03.2012
http://www.thesouthasian.org/blog/archives/2005/the_hidden_facto-
12‘600‘000 children under 14 years are forced to work.
ry_child_labou.html | 21.03.2012
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_background.html | 20.03.2012
page 16
AGRICULTURE
Between 2006 and 2007, India exported 612’641 tons of fish products into nearly half of all the world’s countries. http://www.cift.res.in/innercontent. php?contentid=MTgw | 20.03.2012
Among the fastest growing industries in India belong two to the agricultural sector, namely aquaculture and catch fishery. Between 1990 and 2010 the catch fishery doubled, while the aquaculture even tripled.
An Indian farmer just receives 10 to 23% of the price the Indian consumer pays for exactly the same product. The rest of the money is lost because of losses, inefficiencies and middlemen traders. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/ ac484e/ac484e00.pdf | 20.03.2012
20.03.2012
http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ag087e/ AG087E05.htm | 19.03.2012
In 2011 India exported 2‘000‘000‘000 kilograms of wheat and 2‘100‘000‘000 kilograms of non- basmati rice. h t t p : / / w w w. b l o o m b e r g . c o m / news/2011-09-08/india-allows-
h t t p : / / w w w. f a o . o r g / d o crep/013/i1820e/i1820e.pdf
By the early 1970s India became self- sufficient because it adopted the policies of the „Green Revolution“. The Green Revolution supports the use of various technologies such as pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, disease resistant wheat varieties combined with better farming knowledge.
India is the second largest producer of wheat and rice, the world‘s major staple foods.
wheat-exports-for-the-first-time-infour-years-1-.html | 19.03.2012
http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx | 20.03.2012
India is the largest producer of much fresh fruit and vegetable, several fibrous crops, spices and select fresh meats. http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.
India‘s cultivatable land area of 159.7 million hectares is the second largest in the world - only the United States of America have more arable land area.
aspx | 20.03.2012
http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/india/basicinformation.htm | 19.03.2012
INTRODUCTION - GENERAL CONTEXT
CONCLUSION In this chapter we tried to gather the most important facts, figures as well as the most suprising information. As we already mentioned in the introduction, we just presented the topics, which are relevant for our project. Themes like „tourism“, „politics“ or the entire „economy“ don‘t have an important position in the following documentation. At most, they play a featured part, but definetely not a star role. Although we have already seen several parts of the country and have seen many different things, it is suprising to know the figures of several data a bit better. Every topic presented has some information that we didn‘t expect at first. It is amazing that there is such a huge diversity of different languages and dialects. Most of the people are able to speak some of them. In Bangalore for example, a majority speaks or at least understands English, Kannada, Hindi and Tamil. In Switzerland we are already proud to have four languages and some more dialects. The scale in India compared to Switzerland is simply enormous! But there is also information which suprised us in a negative way. There are still so many children who are suffering from underweight, some of them in a severe status. This is almost unbelievable, because we have seen so many rice fields, there are so many trucks fully loaded with food and still India doesn‘t have enough comestible goods to feed all its inhabitants! This is India - on one hand it delights you with its colourful saris and the smiling people and on the other hand some facts and conditions are just incredibly sad and that something really has to be done. Soon.
page 18
page 20
3 - previous page indian flag revisited
EVALUATION SOLUTIONS REFLEXION
hypothesis players environmental assets end user‘s portrait
structure problems collect missing parts analyse first results
proof hypothesis recommendations next steps
define strategies
team process
scheme with relationships SWOT analysis
first conclusions
find topic for thesis
04.04.2012
STRATEGIES
29.03.2012
ANALYSIS
24.03.2012
01.03.2012
4 phases of case study and timeline
CASE STUDY MALUR
WHAT IT‘S ALL ABOUT? We already explained in the introduction why we decided to come back to India. If we are going a little bit more into detail, we have to admit that the chance Professor Jurg Gründer offered to us was more than interesting. It was something totally beyond of our imagination. He explained us that we were supposed to work out a project in the Region of Malur, a small rural and poor area, 40 km away from Bangalore. The first idea was divided into two parts: on one hand a real housing project in a small scale, on the other hand a regional masterplan which helps to use the existing resources of the region in a more efficient way. When we arrived in Bangalore, we found out that there were problems in the communication of all the involved parties. Realising that time was not on our side, we simply started to look for a strategy which allowed us to work out good results within the next six weeks. The first thing we did was to get in touch with all the involved players. We had several meetings and interview sessions which showed us the way of thinking and highlighted the real goals of all the parties. We also visited the site several times to understand the region better. Due to these visits, we started to have a real idea of the site‘s problems and we started to think which hypothesis could be interesting for this kind of task. After discussing all the interesting aspects and facts, we finally decided that within this „Case study Malur“ the basic question we are going to answer is: How can an architectural intervention enhance the quality of life in a poor rural region like Malur? After that we collected as much data as possible about the environmental assets which take place in the region of Malur. Even though we researched a diverse variety of topics, we decided to focus those which are related to architecture and infrastructures. Thus only the information which is really required is written down in this documentation. Finding out the relationships between the players and the environmental assets, and finding out the gaps which are blocking the region to enhance the quality of life, were the next steps. After defining our field of action, we have worked out possible ideas and concepts which would help us to answer our hypothesis.
page 22
5 Map of India, state of Karnataka, Kolar district, region of Malur
100 km
500 km
20 km
10 km
India state of Karnataka Kolar district region of Malur Malur city & streets Ramnathapuram
CASE STUDY MALUR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS
general numbers _area: 8‘223 km 2 _1‘540‘000 inhabitants (2011) _density: 384 persons per km 2 _75% live in rural areas
KOLAR DISTRICT
economy sericulture dairy agriculture horticulture food processing tourism industries (textile, chemical, bricks,...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolar_district 20.03.2012
Karnataka Global Agribusiness and Food Processing Summit 2011
water The Palar is the only seasonal river. The ground water table decreased a lot in the last 20 years. There are 4‘479 water tanks.
education _74% literate _3‘539 primary schools _266 high schools _73 pre-university colleges _180 libraries
health _61 primary health centers _7 government hospitals _28 private hospitals _2‘640 beds in 35 hospitals _394 drugshops _4 blood banks
Karnataka Global Agribusiness and Food Pro-
Karnataka Global Agribusiness and
Karnataka Global Agribusiness and Food
cessing Summit 2011
Food Processing Summit 2011
Processing Summit 2011
weather - average of the last 20 years
40
240
28
32
180
21
24
120
14
month
http://www.myweather2.com/City-Town/India/Kolar-Gold-Fields/climate-profile.aspx | 30.03.2012
month max temp absolute min
dec
oct
nov
sep
jul aug
jun
apr
may
dec
oct
nov
sep
jul aug
jun
apr
may
jan
feb mar
dec
oct
nov
sep
jul aug
jun
apr
may
jan
feb mar
8 0
0 month
16
jan
0
7
feb mar
60
temperature
35
days
precipitation (mm)
temperatures: average nad extremes
number of rainy days in month
precipitation amount (mm) 300
average max average min
page 24
6 side roads Malur | 2012
THE KOLAR DISTRICT - The land of silk, milk and gold After having seen some important data about the Kolar district, it is important to understand the context where the project will be developed. The Kolar district is bounded by the Bangalore rural district in the west, the Chikballapur district in the north, the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh in the east and on the south by the Krishnagiri and the Vellore districts of Tamil Nadu. The region has always been known because of its gold mines that since hundreds of years BC have provided the inhabitants with a small fortune. Other major sources for the district are agriculture, dairy, sericulture, floriculture and small to medium scale enterprises. Including Malur, eleven different regions - Taluks - make up the Kolar district. In the cultural landscape it‘s important to notice that the are some festivities which are special in the district and depending on the religion as well as the caste, the people celebrate Karaga, Sidi, Mariamma Goddess, Ugadi 3 and the big Ganesha Festival.
MALUR TALUK - The region of Malur Malur was also called `Malligepura` in earlier days because the farmers here used to grow large numbers of Mallige flowers.4 Nowadays the region is known because of the rose plantations, sericulture, agriculture, orthiculture, production of good quality clay tile and bricks and the Sri Prasanna Venkateshwara temple dedicated to lord Vishnu located in Chikka Tirupati. The region of Malur consists of 306 inhabited villages and one town. Malur town is the taluk‘s headquarter. As per the 2001 census, the inhabitants in the rural area are 179‘194 and the ones in urban areas are 27‘815, making a total of 207‘009 persons. The sex ratio in the region is 971 females per one thousand males. The city of Malur is at a distance of 46 km east of Bangalore City, the elevation is 909 m above sea level and the city is located on the Bangalore-Chennai trunk railway line. It‘s a small city with still a rural attitude. In the city it is possible to buy everything needed. There is one main commercial street that crosses the whole city from north to south. In its 2km length it‘s possible to find small restaurants, tea stalls, bars, schools, one hospital, a bank, a couple of hotels, and almost every kind of retail seller. It has a bus station in the middle, and at the 3 Ugadi, for example, is the „beginning of a new age“. Following the lunisolar Hindu calendar it is the celebration of the first day of the year. The day normally begins with an oil shower, and is followed by prayers and lunch. The six celebration dishes with six different tastes are a symbol of different experencies (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) which should be accepted in the following year. That is one of the biggest festivities which are celebrated with the whole extended family. 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malur, 20.03.2012
CASE STUDY MALUR | ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS
used in the area plus export
1 crop/yr.
agriculture
dairy
7 flows between the rural and urban areas
eucalyptus brick factory.
tourism
economy
self-help groups
rural area
MALUR 179‘194 inhabitants
REGION
27‘815 inhabitants
rural culture _emancipation? migration flow trend
slum house
luc
export to Bangalore
economy
bad luck
infrastructure _no transport _no hospitals _limited schools _bad roads _no shops
local market
urban area
infrastructure _train, bus _hospitals _schools _good roads _shops _various services
daily wage k
BANGALORE fix job
end it‘s linked to the street which leads to the train station. Away from the main road, the side roads lead to the habitations and to the smaller shops. The majority of the the small streets are in beaten earth. Even if the project is located in the rural part of the region, the city is important to us, because the NGO Belaku is located here and most of its members live here. The small city itself is strategically important because it is a link between a wide rural area and a big metropolitan area (Bangalore). The small market takes place on a square in the center of the city and products like wood, fruits, flowers and vegetables from the whole region are available here. One part of the products is exported to Bangalore. The village where the NGOs want to intervene, is 12 km south from Malur and is called Ramnathapuram. 50 families are living there, making a total of 256 people. 202 persons are part of the scheduled cast (also known as Dalit), one of the poorest in India. As we have already written in the previous chapters, the main economy is driven by agriculture. Almost all the inhabitant‘s problems are related to that kind of economy. If there is water available, the economy works and the income is assured; without water the whole economy is blocked. And that leads to the fact that young people don‘t see any advantages or reasons for staying in the region and thus try, if they are lucky enough, to emigrate to Bangalore (see scheme above). Coming back to our hypothesis „How can an architectural intervention enhance the quality of life in a poor rural region like Malur?“, it‘s important to see what kind of resources are available in Malur. This way we can understand better how we as architects can enhance the chances of the next generations.
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8 parched soil somewhere close to Ramnathapuram | 2012
RESOURCES Talking about resources we have to analyse what kind of material and human resources are available in the region. Then we have to understand why a region, which once was called „the land of silk, milk and gold“, has lost the power and the knowledge of these resources over the last decades. In the region it is possible to find „red sandy loam“ and „red sandy“ soil which is suitable for agriculture and horticulture for the majority of the area (more than 70% 5) . The matter of fact is that the soil has quite major limitations of shallow rooting depth, poor nutrient status, excessive runoff, low moisture retention capacity, surface crusting and scanty vegetation cover 6. The major horticulture crops are tomato, potato, onion, cabbage, carrot, beans, green chilies, sweet potato, drum stick, etc. The main agriculture crops grown are paddy, ragi, red gram, etc. The main floriculture activities are marigold, crosandra, chrysanthamum, tube rose and aster. The most common plantation crops are cashew, coconut and aromatic plants. Another plant that can be seen a lot is eucalyptus 7. That plant needs no fertilization and after three years of its planting it‘s possible to make a lot of money. The region has rich mineral resources. Black granite and build stone deposits are available in large quantities, mud clay, rock stone and sand are available in a high quality as well as quantity. A vital role in the economy is played by animal husbandry activities, comprising development of dairy, poultry, sheep, goat and piggery. Sericulture is another sector which provides employment to rural people.The red soil is also perfect for the brick and clay tiles production, one of the biggest in the factory sector. In the Kolar district there are just three rivers which are non-perennial. The Palar, the North Pennar, the South Pennar and their tributaries are small and carry water only during the rainy season. The area is characterized by typical monsoon tropical weather with hot summers and mild winters. The average of the rainfall is 800 mm per year. In general the groundwater quality is good for irrigation and domestic use and it is extracted using dug and bore wells. In the region of Malur there are 477 dug wells (163 dried up) and 5594 borewells (231 dried up). „Groundwater contributes to about eighty percent of drinking water requirements in the rural areas, fifty percent of the urban water requirements and more than 5 Shri K. Kumaresan, Ground water information booklet, Kolar district, Karnataka, Bangalore IND, 2009, page nr. 11 6 S.V: Subba Rao, T. Abraham, A. Cotton, Trends in Surface and Ground Water Use in Kolar District, Foundation for ecological security, Gujarat IND, 2005, page nr. 5 7 „... Eucalypts draw a tremendous amount of water from the soil through the process of transpiration. Drainage removes swamps which provide a habitat for mosquito larvae, but can also destroy ecologically productive areas. This drainage is not limited to the soil surface, because the eucalyptus roots are up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and can, depending on the location even reach the phreatic zone....“ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus 26.03.2012
CASE STUDY MALUR | ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS
9 eucalyptus trees - tall ones in the front, small ones in the background somewhere close to Ramnathapuram | 2012
fifty percent of the irrigation requirements of the nation.“ 8 In Malur the situation of the groundwater level is really delicate. Every year the level decreases and the trend is showing that the situation is not going to be better in the future. In the older days the tanks were widely distributed in the whole region and were used during the whole year. One of the reasons for the recess of the water is the typology of vegetables, fruits or plants which are cultivated nowadays. In the past, before the Karnataka irrigation act of 1965, these plants were not as widespread or as sought as they are today. Now it is the market price that indirectly tells the cultivators what they should plant. Fruit and vegetables like tomatoes or water melons, or plants like eucalyptus are well paid for in the local, but especially in the export markets. The problem about those plants is that they consume a lot of water. The eucalyptus trees for example are planted next to the tanks because of their water need, and that is one of the direct causes that causes the soil and the existing tanks to be drained. These plants need no fertilizer and while they are growing, no maintenance is required. After three years, it is possible to cut them and to let them regrow again. The wood is sold and used for pharmaceutical purposes as well as firewood for the brick factories. The income for such an operation is roughly 30‘000 rupees per acre, which is almost three times the money which can be earned by cultivating one acre of ragi - a less invasive plant. The ragi grains are used in the daily alimenation, the ragi straw provides forage for the cows. Both, at home and in the production field, resources are used, but most of the time they are not renewable. If we think about the wood consumption in a village, every person needs an average of 2kg 9 of firewood per day for cooking purposes. The region of Malur is suffering from scarce forest resources. Most of the people don‘t own land and have to buy or steal the wood from someone else‘s land which is normally far away. Those persons won‘t reforest it, because it‘s too expensive. So the collected firewood is in most of the cases not renewable and therefore not sustainable. In a village like Ramnatahpuram, it means that the 256 inhabitants use more than 15 tons of wood every month. In a brick factory the quantity of firewod used for one production cycle is much larger. For the weekly production of 32‘500 bricks 17.2 tons of fuelwood are needed 10. Talking about human resources, more than 74% 11 of the people are literate. In the Taluk there are a one degree college, a polytechnic college, nine pre-universities and 30 high schools. It is obvious that not everybody has a chance to study but the availability of skilled and motivated workers is one of the strenghts of the region. 8 Shri K. Kumaresan, Ground water information booklet, Kolar district, Karnataka, Bangalore IND, 2009, page nr. 2 9 Clean development mechanism simplified project design document for small- scale project activties, CDM - Executive Board, version 02, 2005 10 S. Mande, Proceeding of workshop on disseminationof learnings of Cosmile, Theri Press, New Dehli, 2008 11 District Profile- Kolar, Karnataka Global Agribusiness and Food Processing Summit ´11, 2011
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INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES As already mentioned in Malur city it is possible to find almost everything that is needed: Hospitals, schools, recreational spaces such as bars or restaurants, banks and many more. But the situation changes completely when we look at the rural region. In the village of Ramnathapuram there is just one beaten earth road passing through the village, and about 50 houses which are built along it. The nearest bus station is situated approximately 4km from the village. At the entry of the village there is a public school for children upt to the 5 th class. Between the school and the first houses, we find a big tree with a rock pedestal and a small temple. That is the only recreational or public space in the village. A central water drainage system has been built in the last months, but it‘s not possible to say, where it starts, where exactly it ends and if it‘s actually working. There are two borewells in the village: one is near the school and one near the village centre. This is the most used method to get water here. Electricity is available depending on the phases; 1 phase ca. 20 hours per day, 3 phases 2 hours per day. The borewells function with three phases. It means that people (generally the women) have to be ready at all times to collect drinking water 12 for the daily needs. Only a few families have access to a private water facility. There are no other methods to catch or collect rain water. In the village there is no shop, no pharmacy, no hospital, no doctor, no kindergarden nor any covered public space. The only disposable toilets are in the school: three male toilets and a female one. Toilets are not built and used, even if the government gives half of the amount needed (3‘000 Rps) as incentive for the construction. The village doesn‘t have a waste management system. People don‘t have that much money to buy things from outside, therefore there is not much artificial waste lying around. But there is organic waste like cow dung, rotten fruits and dried up coconuts. The scale of the village is comfortable, but its atmosphere is not very joyful. A reason might be the heat, but probably it is the fact that spaces for social interaction are missing - for adults as well as for children.
12 region
drinking water: it is known that most of the times the water extracted from the borewell contains traces of the pesticides that are common in the
MAP OF THE VILLAGE OF RAMNATHAPURAM
10 m
50 m
N
holy tree
houses we’ve visited
bore well
streets
school
fields
houses
small temple
1 map of Ramnathapuram
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11 typical house with cattle shed Ramnathapuram | 2012
HOUSING Of the 50 houses there were just three which were G+1 structure. Houses of relatively rich or middle class persons (6‘000-9‘000 rupees as monthly income). The others were houses with just the ground floor. Some bigger ones had a raised floor, or some kind of „under-roof“, which is used for storage. Most of the houses have a foundation in shaped stones. The walls of the new houses are normally made of brick, but the older ones have clay tile parts put togheter with mud and cement. The roof of the older houses has a double shed form with a structure of massive wood (12-16cm) that supports the clay tiles. That gives more space for storage, but it is normally not ventilated, and will be heating the house. The new houses‘ roofs are built often in reinforced concrete. That seems to be a „cooler“ solution. Some houses we saw had a broken roof, and were covered with plastic. Other dwellings had a zinc roof. The number of the rooms and the dimensions vary from house to house. Normally the smaller houses have one room and one kitchen. The use of the basic room changes depending on the functions during the day. It could be used as a bedroom or a living room, as working place. Often the fireplace in the kitchen has a bad areation system, which results in really bad respiratory deseases. A bigger house could have also a small place for washing and one or two rooms more. There are houses with a small external place for the animals, covered with wood and coconuts or banana leaves to keep the animals in the shade. None of the houses have toilets. Some have a really small veranda in front of the house. Windows are a luxury. The furniture is normally modest and minimal. Interestingly, we saw many television sets. The television is important for these people. It is the only link to have news from the rest of the country. On the next page there are two ground floors of Ramnathapuram. In the left one, there are six people living. They have the privilege of owning two larger rooms. These rooms are used for sleeping or as living and storage rooms. The main bedroom, built about 30 years ago, was the first part of the house. After living just in that room for many years, the family has built an additional kitchen and an entrance room which was refurnished with simple furnitures, a small temple and old photos. This is because of the growing family as well as the fact that they sold land and could invest the financial revenue for transforming their house.Their animals are kept in the attached cattle shed. For the second example the conditions are different: Five people share 25m 2. The almost empty entrance hall is used as the main room, half of the the small bedroom is filled with supplies and the small kitchen has just enough space for one person to move. They own no external space but the condition of the structure is quite good. There is always one main room which is used for different purposes. If the family grows a lot or has some money saved, they add some rooms to their house.
CASE STUDY MALUR | ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS
12 sketches of two typical houses
5
3
4
2
1
3
1
4 7
2
6
1m
5m N entry
1
bedroom / storage room
2
room (living room and/or bedroom)
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kitchen
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fireplace
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cattle shed
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veranda
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place for animals
1m
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CASE STUDY MALUR PLAYERS
It is obvious that every project has players who should gain something. To achieve as many benefits as possible a project should respect all the required needs and observe the context in a holistic way. To achieve a sustainable realisation the communication between the involved players has to be transparent and continous. In the following pages we will introduce all the involved parties and explain their goals. In a further step we will show the relationships between all of them: _IN:CH | Architects and planner _Habitat for Humanity (India) | international active NGO and prime investor _Belaku | local NGO _End user | House owners _Students We think that the players who plays the most important role in this case study is the end user. Without the end user there would be no project. That‘s why we dedicated a special part of this chapter to six families with whom we have spent some time. We got the unique chance to share and exchange thoughts, experiences and we made some tremendously impressive experiences.
IN:CH | Architects and planners IN:CH is an organisation located in the east of Bangalore established in 2010. It is a trans-cultural and interdisciplinary organisation which aims to bring about positive changes through design and innovation to all strata of society. It is a group of architects, planners and designers who work towards realising projects that are sustainable to the environment, contemporary, aesthetic, universal and most of all provide social equity and upliftment. social, climatic, regional and environmental considerations are chief components of their designs. The projects cover social and regional planning, urban design, architectural design, interiors, furniture design, publishing and educational programmes. The designs and innovation are done in consultation with clients, beneficiaries and the consultants and the team works out every detail until the execution is complete. They also work also for development in the rural and urban sector and try to incorporate local materials and techniques in their design. The strength of IN:CH comes both from the Indian and the Swiss culture. The spontaneity and innovativeness from India and the precision and planning from Switzerland are a part of every project. Talking about educational programmes there is a longtime collaboration with the Bern University of Applied Sciences that makes possible a trans-cultural studio with Swiss and Indian students with a duration of four months. Goal: To make a positive socioeconomic difference through buildings and design.
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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Habitat for Humanity, also called „Habitat“, is one of the biggest NGOs worldwide to provide decent housing programs for people in need. Habitat for Humanity India began operations in Khammam in Andhra Pradesh in 1983, and is now one of Habitat’s largest country programs. Since then, over 40,000 houses have been constructed, providing safe, decent and affordable shelter to around 200,000 less fortunate citizens of the country. Given the immense need for decent housing, Habitat’s approach goes beyond just undertaking its own building programs. It also acts as a catalyst for improving housing conditions by offering Habitat’s support, expertise and experience to other groups and partners. HFH India operates through resource centers in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi. The NGO has an active disaster response program. Reconstruction efforts after the December 2004 tsunami were built on earlier initiatives in Gujarat, where Habitat provided homes following an earthquake in 2001 and in Cuttack, Orissa, where communities were rebuilt in the aftermath of a super cyclone. Habitat’s tsunami response involves assisting thousands of families directly and indirectly, often in partnership with other organizations. Habitat continues to help tsunami-affected families rebuild their lives and constructs and repairs several hundred houses every month. HFH India also responds when local communities are affected by annual monsoon rains. Goal: Habitat for Humanity, through the grace of God, is building a different world, a better world. 13
13 HFH, What we build, HFH annual report FY 2010, HFH, Americus USA, 2011, page nr. 2
CASE STUDY MALUR | ACTORS
BELAKU BELAKU is a non- political, secular, non- profit organisation. Its name means „light“ in the Kannada language, and it is active in the state of Karnataka, India. It was initiated by a group of agricultural graduates and has its main focus on improving the livelihoods of the farming communities in Malur and surroundings. Till 2009 the organisation concentrated on activities like training as well as awareness building programs. Since 2010 BELAKU has spread its activities in the field of rural development, especially promoting sustainable agriculture. BELAKU tries to achieve its aims through holistic approaches. This involves social mobilisation, financial comprehension of the excluded sections and promotion of smart financial practices and sustainable livelihoods. BELAKU helps the rural poor to improve their livelihood through natural resource management and sustainable agriculture. Goal: To bring an improvement in the livelihood of resource-poor rural families. Objectives _better natural resource management implements organic and sustainable agriculture. _to build the capacities of resource-poor farmers as better farm managers _to ensure effective linkages and convergence with various development agencies and farmers _to develop rural youths as social assets and engage them in rural development _to guide other development agencies and NGOs in operationalising the sustainable agriculture programs in a systematic manner _to strengthen people‘s institutions, for example self help groups, and make them sustainable
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12 thinking about the future at school Ramnathapurraml | 2012
END USER Even after having met several people in two different villages, it is really difficult to give a general description of a typical end user in the rural part of Malur. As in the rest of the subcontinent, the concept and value of the family is really important in that region. We observed that there are usually three different generations living under one roof. Generally a family consists of the husband and his wife, the children (two or three), and the husband‘s parents. The economical situation is very versatile. Normally people work around the village in the fields, in brick factories, or they go to Malur city to get a job on a daily wage basis. A daily wage worker earns 40- 80 rupees (0.801.60 Chf) a day. A fix job in a brick factory or in the field could bring up to 200- 300 rupees a day (4- 6 Chf). Educated people have the chance to work for some more rupees in Malur city or Bangalore. For the families it is really difficult to get a bank loan. That‘s why self help groups are growing in the region. In the village of Ramnathapuram 16 women are taking part in a self help group. There are some really young girls, maybe around 20, and some who belong to the eldest women of the village. So there is a heterogenic structure in this group. The elder women can help the young ones with their experience and knowledge, the young ones can support the older women with their energy. They meet once a month and each woman brings a small amount of saved money. This amount will be written down in the personal passport. Every month a responsible person will bring the collected money from the whole group to the bank. In the case a woman needs money, for example to buy another goat or to buy school books for her child, she can make a request in the group and after an assembly it will be decided if she can get a loan. Moving on together as a group makes the economy at least a little bit stronger. About education we can say that almost every village has got an undergraduation school (until 10th year - pupils around 15- 16 years old). If the family is working, they try to encourage their children go to school every day. After the undergraduate school the child will have the chance to continue the studies in Malur for the graduation and in Bangalore for the degree. But unfortunately it‘s more realistic that most of the families don‘t have enough money to finance the children‘s education. Therefore the children are forced to drop out of school before finishing the 10th year and will have to work with the parents or as daily wagers. The houses have statical and functional problems, and there‘s no house with water facilities or a toilet. There are some houses which have a separate facility in the house for bathing. But there is no running water, the families fill some water in a bin next to the facility. The concept of toilets doesn‘t exist. The people go a couple of meters away from the village and fullfill their human needs. Especially for women and adolescent girls this is a huge problem. The minimum standard of privacy isn‘t available at all! Another point is housing- the houses are
CASE STUDY MALUR | ACTORS
13 women taking a break on the way to Ramnathapurram | 2012 14 - next page all the parties involved
just too small for the people living there, privacy doesn‘t exist at all. They do have electricity, (1 phase and 3 phases) but just for a couple of hours at night. Drinking water is available just when they can pump it out of the soil (1000 ft. down). The quality of this water is sufficient for domestic use and irrigation, but it is not enough for drinking purposes. Water until a depth of 700- 800 ft can be drunk, if it comes from a deeper level, the quality isn‘t sufficient and it is a risk to the health of the people. The concept of rain water harvesting is not established, although many people have heard about it. The villages lack community centres. Public spaces are normally defined by a small space under a „banyan tree“. This tree has a holy meaning for the people. But beside that there is no infrastructure which supports or enhances social interactions. In a community center the self help groups could meet and discuss their topics, evenig school classes for adults can be held, a lovely space for a kindergarden (anganwadi) could be integrated,... Even a small workshop could be a part of the community center. It will be a space where people, who are interested in being selfemployed, can try out their ideas. Some women mentioned that they would like to produce and sell candles to earn some additional money. Exactly for them a small workshop would be perfect. For every kind of shopping to fullfil basic needs, they have to go to Malur city. That means walking a couple of kilometers, waiting for the bus and finally reaching the city. Health facilities like doctors, pharmacies and dentists are all located in Malur. We can clearly say that the biggest issues are: _scarcity of drinking water and water for agricultural purpose _scarcity of toilets _scarcity of public spaces _lack of public transportation _lack of health centers _lack of shops _the streets are in really bad conditions
STUDENTS We are in contact with all the involved parties, but we mainly work for IN:CH architects and planners. All the people involved are familiar with the current situation and have a wide knowledge about a specific topic. Our goal is to write a documentation which is helpful for each participant - it will be used as a common basis. It helps those involved to communicate and understand the others‘ main focus a bit better.
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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE PARTIES As we said at the beginning of this chapter it is important to understand, who is involved, to know the participants‘ goals and finally to find out the relationship between them. As we see in the diagram below, the end user is at the center of the project. The end user is the essential part in the project and is in the thoughts of the other parties. There are two visible flows in the graphic. The are the competences or financial support that are given to the end user for a realisation of the project. The are the information flows. The information flow is a critical part because all the involved parties communicate in a different way, although a majority speaks English. But the people of Ramnathapuram speak Kannada and Tamil. This is where Belaku plays an important role: They guarantee a good and accurate translation between all the parties. The spoken and written languages are different as well as the cultures and this might lead to confusion. But with a transparent and precise exchange of information it is possible to find compromises and new solutions. This is where our documentation , which acts as a common basis, plays an important role. It should assure that the parties are talking about the same topics and understand each other in a precise way.
IN:CH
end user
Habitat
15 Relationship between the parties
Belaku
CASE STUDY MALUR | ACTORS
CONCLUSION This first chapter shows that Malur as well as Ramnathapuram have similar problems as many other villages in India. Resources have been used for many years, just thinking about the positive and immediate impact on the earnings. Nowadays the earth is not producing as it was some decades ago because it has been exploited for many years. It is getting more and more difficult for the people to earn enough money for surviving. If they are lucky, they can afford it to save some money. We have talked to a few women in Ramnathapuram. Each month they are able to save some money, namely one hundred rupees. One hundred rupees is not even two Swiss francs and rarely has the difference between India and Switzerland been shown so clear! The lack of infrastructure intensifies the inhabitants to be marginalized. Before they go to the nearest hospital, before they go to a graduate school, before they go to the post office, they will think twice. Just thinking about that doesn‘t help a lot. But probably it helps if we find the gaps which slow down all the processes. The Goverment has plenty of programs that sooner or later will be applied in the region. Even if they are doing a better and faster job than in the past decades, external help is needed. NGOs are trying to help in various ways, mostly by doing pilot projects for the government. They are often too specialized in just one topic. This limits them to get a global and objective vision of all the aspects which have to be implicated for finding an innovative, durable and sustainable solution. Before going on with the analysis and finding solutions we dedicated an own chapter to the end users. In the following portraits there is a collection of data as well as our impressions of the site visits.
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END USERS‘ PORTRAITS AND DATA
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CASE STUDY MALUR END USER‘S PORTRAITS AND DATA
T he portraits of the end users are a very important and essential part of our project. We were really looking forward to them - but when the day came closer, we got a bit nervous. To meet people, who have much fewer resources than you, talk with them about their situation and needs, seemed kind of difficult for us. How should we behave? How can we react in different situations? What are the habits of these families? Which questions should we avoid? How was it again with these unspoken Indian standards everybody seems to know about…? We had a lot of questions in our minds and for that reason we really needed help from Indian people. Before leaving for Ramnathapuram we talked to Priya Joseph from IN:CH architects and planners and Thomas Mathew from Habitat for Humanity. For example we wanted to know how we should enter a house (take off your shoes and don’t step on the door sill). From our last Indian experience we already knew some of those habits, but we just wanted to reassure everything. We were aware that our appearance in the village will throw up some thoughts and expectations. At the moment our project is still in an initial stage, we don’t plan to realize it in the upcoming weeks. To make the people understand that we are just looking at their village and finding out their needs, was a tremendously important part of this visit. Each time we visited the village someone from a NGO was accompainig us. Mr. Mandela from Belaku is well known in the village and therefore the people kind of trusted us. Mr Mandela acted also as a translator/ mediator between the families and us - translating Kannada and English between us. This was essential, otherwise we wouldn‘t had a chance of understanding them. It is understandable that people expect help or money from two white people. It is understandable that people were suspicious of our arrival. It is understandable that some families refused to show us their houses. And it is more than understandable that those people need help.
E ach one of the six portraits is divided into two parts. On the first double page there is a short summary about the conversation and how we perceived the whole situation. We have also written down some of the emotions and feelings we had at certain moments. The second double page is a fact sheet. There are all the data we collected, some general information and a floorplan as well as an elevation. These measures are taken by eye and we don‘t claim to have it metered it in a perfect way.
daily wager in the agricultural sector or in a brick factory number and gender of adults and children living in the house
private ownership of water facilities or land
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general data about the family and its condition members | age Members | Age husband | 35| 35 husband
rooms were rooms wereadded. added.The Thehouse houseis isbuilt builtin inbricks bricksand andis iswell well maintained.The main maintained.The mainhouse houseis iscovered coveredwith withtiles, tiles,the theadded added
wifewife | 28| 28 mother-in-law mother in law
parts with parts withcorrugated corrugatediron ironsheets. sheets.There Thereis isa alarger largerempty empty area around thethe house area around house- maybe - maybeforforfurther furtherannexes. annexes.
2 sons | 10| 10 & 12 2 sons & 12 1 daughter | 14| 14 1 daughter
total sq.sqm m | |sq. m per per person person Total sqm ~45 | ~7.5 ~45 | ~7.5
type of work Type of work TheThe family owns land andand borewells. They work mainly onon animals family owns land borewells. They work mainly Animals their own fields don‘t depend on the factories. Several chickens andand twotwo cows. The The cowscows give spend circa 6 circa litres 6 the fields andand don‘t depend on the brickbrick factories. Several chickens cows. of litres milk per day.per day. of milk education of of children Education children | grade All All thethe children attend school. children are going to school.
number and kind of animals which belong to a family
general info general info The family has one of ofthethebigger The family has one biggerhouses housesin inthe thevillage. village.They They
condition & type of of house own only fridgefridge and they have aa TV. TV ser. Because Condition & type house ownthethe onliest and have Because theythey have It‘sIt‘s one an attached attached cattle cattleshed shedand and own their crops,daily theirmeals daily meals varythey and seem they seem onebigger biggerhouse house with with an sto- have owntheir crops, vary and to be storage room. ItItisisL-L-shaped shaped in between is a to healthy. be healthy. family ownborewell borewelland and can they assure thus rage room. andand in between therethere is a veranThisThis family hashas anitsown veranda. covered a roof made of palm leaves. meet required waterofneed da. It‘sIt‘s covered by by a roof made outout of palm leaves. theirtheir required amount waterbybythemselves. themselves. TheThe house waswas built 60 60 years agoago andand during thethe time new house built years during time new
floor plan and elevation of the house
page 44
THE MUNIYAPPA FAMILY We arrived at Ramnathapuram around 09.30 am. In the center of the village was a crowd, people were shouting and discussing in a rough way. At first we were a bit confused by this situation, but curious enough to check out what was happening. In the middle of the crowd there was a dead sheep. It had been knocked over by an unidentified person. People were deciding how they should proceed and what was going to happen with the sheep. We were just standing there and observing the whole scenario when a man started talking to us. We didn’t have to explain much, but got invited pretty fast. He led us to his house and organized some chairs for us. While we sat in the cool shade of his roof, Mr. Mandela from Belaku introduced us to the family and to Mr. Muniyappa, the man who had invited us. Mr. Mandela was acting between the family and us, translating into Kannada and English. But all in all it was a special mix of several languages – Kannada, Tamil, English and body language. Mr. Muniyappa was very open-minded and gave us many answers. Once in a while he smiled at us, which made us feel comfortable and relaxed. Although we just spoke with Mr. Muniyappa besides his family, we were sitting in the middle of quite a bunch of people. The crowd had found a solution for the „sheep problem“ and was interested in us, and therefore gathered around us along with family members.
Although we just spoke with Mr. Muniyappa, we were quite a lot of people: beside some family members, the crowd found a solution for the “sheep problem” and was interested in us. So it happened that on our first interview approximately 30 people took place.
page 46
members | age
condition & type of house
grandfather | 65
The house is 26 years old and still in a acceptable condition.
grandmother | 50
It was built by the houseowner itself and hasn‘t changed a
2 sons with wives, first grandchild will be born soon
lot since then. Its walls are made out of tiles and mud, the
one boy from the village, relation unknown
roof construction is made of wood and tiles. It is divided into two sides, each with a kitchen, main and
type of work
storage room. One side has an additional bath.
The family owns some land. But unfortunately they don‘t have their own borewell. So they depend on a public one
total sq. m of the house | sq. m per person
and therefore their daily amount of water is limited. As long
~66 | ~9.5
as there is enough water, they work on their private fields. In the dry season they work as daily wagers in brick factories
animals
or the agriculture sector.
several chicken and ducks
The father quit work two years ago because of severe health issues.
general info The two sides of the house are connected, but each one
education of children
has its own entry. Soon the family will grow and they might
All the children went to school, but haven‘t had any further
need more space.
education.
elevation
1m
5m
N
floor plan
page 48
THE MURALI FAMILY After the first interview we walked through the village and got invited by a woman we had already met at the meeting of the self help group. We were glad to meet again and tried to speak with hands and gestures. We just arrived in front of her door when a man inside started to shout and curse. She apologized and Mr. Mandela informed us that her husband didn‘t want any disturbance. So we headed on to the next house and we met the family of Mr. Murali.This family has the smallest house in Ramnathapuram. It isn’t just tiny, the construction is also in a bad condition. But nevertheless the family invited us and we entered. What we saw was shocking – there was one room, maybe 17 square meters, for five people. The family cooks, eats, sleeps and lives on those few square meters. This interview touched us the most – the things we heard were extremely sad. Mr. Murali studied at Christ College in Bangalore and worked for Infosys, a huge IT company in Bangalore. He and his wife lived in Bangalore, but they didn‘t have a legal permit to stay there. One day someone found out and they were forced to leave Bangalore. They went back to Mrs. Murali’s family who is living in Ramnathapuram. But there is no public transport from Ramnathapuram to Bangalore and Mr. Murali lost his job. Right now they are daily wagers and earn barely enough to survive. It is not understandable why the only person who has studied belongs to the poorest in this village. While he was talking about his situation we felt deep emotions – the gap between poor and rich never seemed bigger. How is it possible that within two square meters there are two people from the same planet but with completely different conditions? In our bags were our phones and cameras, but our bags were in a house which was falling apart and barely offers shelter to its inhabitants.. We asked Mr. Murali about his dreams for the future – the answer was short, but both of us were on the verge of crying. He replied that he is just thinking how to survive the present day. Thinking about the future is too unbearable for him. Looking in the eyes of Mr. Murali, his wife and his children was not the easiest thing we have done in our life.
page 50
members | age
palm leaves and plastic canvas.
husband | 35
It has a plinth made out of stone. The air in the house is very
wife | 26
sticky and kind of humid because of the plastic canvas. This
mother-in-law
material hinders natural ventilation.
1 son | 12 1 daughter | 7
total sq. m | sq. m per person ~17 | ~3.4
type of work The parents work in a brick factory four days per week and
animals
earn less than 300 Rupees a day.
none
education of children
general info
The children go to school as often as possible.
It is incredible that so many people can share such a small space to live. The condition of the construction is insuffici-
condition & type of house
ent, the humidity is weakening the walls and floor. This could
It‘s one house divided into two separate halves and it is oc-
be prevented by appropriate materials for the roof.
cupied by two different parties. It‘s in a very bad condition and too small for five dwellers. The walls are made of bricks and mud, the roof with wood,
elevation
1m
5m N
floor plan
page 52
THE VENKATESH FAMILY Mrs. Venkatesh invited us to her house and was visibly happy to have some visitors. Therefore this interview started in a delightful way. We were talking about different topics, including her children. We realized that she doubted but then she told us that one of her three children is handicapped. Supposedly the girl was in the hospital that day, but we are not that sure about this answer. Handicapped people are stigmatized by the remaining society. She refused to answer more questions about her daughter and we accepted her decision. On the other hand many Indian people have a hard life, especially girls and women. What kind of life does this handicapped girl have? Is the family treating her well? Does she get appropriate help and support? We had many unanswered questions in our minds.
page 54
members | age
good condition. The house was built by the houseowner and
husband | 40
hasn‘t changed a lot since then. The owners take care of it.
wife | 32
Its walls are made out of bricks, the roof
2 daughters | 12 & 14
made of wood and tiles. At the rear of the house there is a
1 son | 10
bath.
type of work
total sq. m | sq. m per person
Both of the parents are daily wage workers. During the rainy
~25 | ~5
construction is
season they work in the agriculture sector, the rest of the year in brick factories. As long as there is enough work, both
animals
work daily. Otherwise Mrs. Venkatesh stays at home and
several chickens & ducks
takes care of the children and household. general info education of children
The house is embedded in a group of houses and the closer
One girl is handicapped and doesn‘t go to school. The other
environment is more private. Children can play in front of
two children attend school regularly.
the house and they are not endangered by the local traffic.
condition & type of house The house is between 20 and 25 years old and still in a
elevation
5m
N
1m
floor plan
page 56
THE PUTTARNA FAMILY The next interview led us to one of the wealthiest families in Ramnathapuram – they own the only fridge in the whole village. All of us sat down in front of the house and we enjoyed the cooling shade. Mrs. Puttarna offered some chai and we had a relaxed chat. Suddenly we heard some noisy engines roaring and seven guys stopped their bikes at Mrs. Puttarna’s house. They didn’t say hello but interrupted our conversation in a fairly rude way. The asked for water, emptied all the offered glasses and went away. No thank you, no good- bye, no nothing else. We were quite surprised by the attitude of those guys, but Mrs. Puttarna seemed to be used to it. Her house was bigger than the others and is lovingly decorated. There were also some photographs of the family. One showed Mr. and Mrs. Puttarna on their wedding day – happy faces look different and the expression on Mrs. Puttarna’s face made us think about her past, present and future. Would she have married the same man if she had been able to decide by herself? Is she comfortable with her husband? What are the dreams of her future? We didn’t ask those questions, they’re too intimate and we were already glad about her hospitality.
page 58
members | age
rooms were added. The house is built in bricks and is well
husband | 35
maintained.The main house is covered with tiles, the added
wife | 28
parts with corrugated iron sheets. There is a larger empty
mother-in-law
area around the house - maybe for further annexes.
2 sons | 10 & 12 1 daughter | 14
total sq. m | sq. m per person ~45 | ~7.5
type of work The family owns land and borewells. They work mainly on
animals
their own fields and don‘t depend on the brick factories.
Several chickens and two cows. The cows give circa 6 litres of milk per day.
education of children All the children attend school.
general info The family has one of the bigger houses in the village. They
condition & type of house
own the only fridge and they have a TV ser. Because they
It‘s one bigger house with an attached cattle shed and sto-
have their own crops, their daily meals vary and they seem
rage room. It is L- shaped and in between there is a veran-
to be healthy. This family has its own borewell and they thus
da. It‘s covered by a roof made out of palm leaves.
meet their required water need by themselves.
The house was built 60 years ago and during the time new
elevation
1m
5m
N
floor plan
page 60
THE OBALAPP FAMILY This interview we made in another village called Doddakllahalli. By the time we reached Mrs. Obalapp’s house, we had already attracked the attention of many people. Therefore we ended up having the interview with her surrounded by another 22 spectators. It was a really pleasant experience. We talked and thankfully someone offered us some lime juice. What a refreshing moment! After the juice they served us slices of apple. For Swiss people this doesn’t seem to be a big thing – until they learn that one apple costs about 40 Indian Rupees. Just to compare this figure: a daily wage worker earns between 40 and 200 Rupees per day! So just like that we ate quite an expensive, precious fruit. The conversation with Mrs. Obalapp and the other women was very active and we felt comfortable. But then Mrs. Obalapp showed us a card – the wedding invitation for her daughter. Her daughter got married 3 days after we visited the family. Right now she is living apart from her family, in a different state, a lot of kilometers away from her home and family. The chance that they will meet again is not at all that great, the distance is just too far. How was this girl feeling in those days? Mrs. Obalapp guessed our thoughts and said that the daughter’s situation wasn‘t that bad. Her prospective husband is a member of the family, actually it’s her cousin. What we felt in that moment we cannot describe in a proper way – it’s mainly a mixture of confusion, anger, sadness and desperateness.
page 62
members | age
condition & type of house
husband
The house is in a proper condition and painted in lovely
wife
colours. There is one large main room, two bedrooms and a
mother-in-law
kitchen. In one corner is a puja which is decorated with a lot
2 daughters | 11 & 22
of paintings and flowers.
2 sons | 16 & 18
There is a plinth made out of stone, the house itself is built in bricks and mud, the roof is made of tiles and bamboo. The
type of work
space in front of the house is used as working space. There
The family owns 1.5 acre of land. But unfortunately they
is no cattle shed for the cows.
don‘t have a watertank. Therefore they can use the fields only for a few months. The rest of the year they are daily
total sq. m | sq. m per person
wage workers in brick factories.
~57 | ~8.1
education of children
animals
All of them go to school, but the oldest daughter just got
several chickens and four cows
married and had to leave the village. Her chances of visiting a school at her husband‘s place are minimal.
general info
The sons will finish school soon and have the possibility to
The house is richly decorated with religious items. Although
study at a university.
they belong to Hindus there are a lot of Christian paintings.
1m
5m
N
NR PICT
elevation
NR PICT
floor plan
page 64
THE GOPAMMA FAMILY The last interview we had with Mrs. Gopamma. Her house was also filled by many additional spectators. Everybody seemed to be interested. This time we were able to talk to three generations of the same family: the grandmother, Mrs. Gopamma and her daughter. It was wonderful to sit next to these three strong and courageous women. All of them had a very clear opinion about their future and we had a long, honest talk with them. Mrs. Gopamma explained to us why she needs more sheep, why she wants to buy some cows and why she really wants to make a good education possible for her children. This was the only women who insisted of making us aware of the situation and she repeated her answers until she perceived our faces and reactions in a certain way. This last conversation was also very impressive and we were deeply impressed how these people are handling their lives, their environment and their upcoming futures. After this day we were filled by many different feelings and emotions and we needed two days to calm down. We had to “digest� all the impressions we got in such a short time.
page 66
members | age
condition & type of house
husband | 35
At the front side the house is in a proper condition, at the
wife | 28
sides and the back the reverse is true. There is one main
3 daughters | 6, 8 & 11
room and a kitchen. The house including the roof is made of
1 son | 12
stone. It was built in 1990.
parents-in-law 2 brothers with wives
total sq. m | sq. m per person ~28 | ~2.3
type of work The husband works as an electrician and earns approxi-
animals
mately 6000 Rupees a month. His brother is a photographer
several chickens and 6 sheep
and works as a daily wage worker, Mrs. Gopamma takes care of the children and is a housewife. They own land, but
general info
don‘t have access to borewells.
They would like to buy a cow, but at the moment they don‘t have enough funds put aside, to buy one. One cow costs
education of children All the children go to school and should finish it. Later all of them should have the possibility to study at a university.
30‘000 Rupees.
elevation
5m
N
1m
floor plan
page 68
page 70
CASE STUDY MALUR MALUR TODAY
COMPLEXITY OF THE REGION Before showing some ideas and concepts which could be applied in the region, it is essential to understand the real needs of the inhabitants of Ramnathapuram. We have already touched the important topics in the previous section, but now it‘s important to merge them in a structured form. This helps to understand in a better way where it is possible to intevene. In this part of the work we thought that making a SWOT-analysis would be the best thing to find out the gaps between the strength and the weaknesses of the village and the opportunities and threats of the region. But something was still missing. That is why we decided first to develop a graphic which gives an overview on the actors, the activities (social and economic), the environmental assets, and their pro and cons. In the next two pages this will be shown, so it should be simpler to see at glance the whole complexity of the the region.
actors
activities and economy
environmental assets
CONSEQUENCES
16 process of te analysis
page 72
actors activities & economy
environmental assets
consequences
farmers
horticulture
agriculture
floriculture
plantation
tomato potato onion cabbage
paddy ragi red gram
marigold crosandra tube rose
cashew coconut eucalyptus
water tank
forest
borewell
field
+ diversity of products + knowledge about rain harvesting + good money for high water intensive crops -
soil is overexploited high water intensive crops are planted destroyed or poorly maintained water tanks quality of drinking water
CASE STUDY MALUR | MALUR TODAY
17 relationship between actors, activities, environmental assets and consequences
housewifes
industry workers
inhabitants
dairy
activities at home
factories
social & cultural
milk eggs meat
breeding the children cooking collect water accounting, small works
bricks textile chemicals post-production
school and education recreation self help groups playgrounds
fields | village
+ good income + diverse nutrition + cow dong is used for bottom covering or mixed with mud for the wall construction - bad infrastructure
house | village
factories
+ products have a high quality - overexploitation of soil for the bricks - overexploitation of firewood because it‘s used for heating the kiln - deforestation + knowledge of building - bad infrastructure - no water supply - the smoke in the kitchen is dangerous - no toilets and few places for taking a bath
public spaces infrastructure
+ family is united + school is well organized - no public spaces - no workshops - streets and sanitation are in very bad condition
page 74
SWOT ANALYSIS As we already know the SWOT-analysis is an important part of the strategic planning process. With this instrument we have a list of all the environmental factors, both internal and external ones. The internal factors are defined as strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), the external ones are divided in opportunites (O) and threats (T). The internal factors show the site‘s possibilities and resources, the external ones describe the environment in which it operates.
Ramnathapuram
internal factors
STRENGTHS
region of Malur
external factors
OPPORTUNITIES
WEAKNESSES
THREATS
As a first step we made two graphics for the internal factors. They show the strengths and weaknesses of the village of Ramnathapuram. Then we made two graphics which show the opportunities and threats which occur in the environment of Ramnathapuram, also the region of Malur and the government of Karnataka.
CASE STUDY MALUR | MALUR TODAY
As a third step we created a matrix for each of the four factors. On the x- axis there is the appearance of the factor, on the y- axis either the benefit for the society (if it it is a strength or an opportunity), or the damage to the society (if it is a weakness or threat). The following graphic shows how we distributed each point in the matrix.
+100
strenghts | opportunities
2 +75
1
+25
75
50
25
100
75
50
25
appearance appearance
0
0
-25
4 -50
-75
3 weaknesses | threads
- 100
damage for society
100
benefit for society
+50
_has moderate benefit for the society 1 _appears very often _has a huge benefit for the society 2 _doesn‘t appear frequently.
_damages the society strongly 3 _appears often _has a low damage for the society 4 _doesn‘t appear frequently.
page 76
INTERNAL strengths
people _skilled people _hard working people _will to be selfemployed _educated people | literacy rate ~74% various animals _guarantee healthier diet _different parts of the animals can be used (milk, eggs, wool, meat,...) diverse economy _different industries (bricks, textile, chemistry, food processing, ...) _multifaceted farming sector (agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, ...) infrastructure _infrastructure of school has a high quality and corresponds with the required needs: two class rooms, kitchen, separate toilets for boys and girls housing _the space allocation plan of the houses respects the needs of its inhabitants: in every house there is always one main room, where all the social activities happen. This room is essential and is the main part of each house. water _quality of water is sufficient for irrigation and domestic use existing networks _women based organisations guarantee transparency _self help groups | 36 out of 50 families are involved in one of those groups
CASE STUDY MALUR | MALUR TODAY
INTERNAL weaknes ses
water _Quality of water isn‘t sufficient for drinking purpose and causes health issues. male society _men driven society _alcoholism _corruption _missing appreciation of women
depleting water resources _unregulated exploitation of ground water resources because of bore wells and high water intensive crops _destroyed or poorly maintained water tanks
imperilling habits _High consumption of firewood and kerosene for cooking. _Each year more Indian women die from respiratory diseases caused by fumes in kitchens than from malaria.
housing _inappropriate construction of the rooftops (not enough light and ventilation, heat) _the houses are not ventilated, so the heat and smoke is stocked inside _the quality of the building materials doesn‘t correspond with the price and climate _smoke from cooking stays in kitchen (respiratory diseases)
agriculture | environment _high water intensive crops (tomatoes, bananas, paddy,...) _increased nitrate concentration in soil because of exorbitant use of fertilizer _blocked and ploughed feeder channels because of higher utilisation _100% reliance on bore wells for irrigation. _there are no checkdams or water tanks _deforestation | scarce wood resources _former fertile soils are depleted people _not aware of consequences which their behaviour causes _wasting existing resources _depend on child labour for financial survival infrastructure _missing community center or public space _missing health facilities _no public transport _no water catching facilities _existing water tanks are in severe condition _no waste management
education _Adults are mostly not educated, although the literacy rate adds up to ~74%. This is a result of the inadequately skilled teachers. _Consistency of children‘s education. Most of the children are going to school 2- 3 days per week, the remaining days they work in brick factories or on the fields.
page 78
EXTERNAL opportu nities
governmental programs _The state of Karnataka has developped different programs to change the current situations for the better. For almost every problem there is a planned program, for example sanitation. interested NGOs _Belaku and Habitat for Humanity for example, are interested in supporting the inhabitants. _NGOs have an expert knowledge for certain issues, for example water harvesting. scientist | experts _There are many people who have a tremendous knowledge about certain conditions, possible strategies, solutions and much more. Those persons are willing to support and help people in need. _This group doesn‘t belong to a company or organisation, they are independent. _For example universities, schools, IN:CH architects and planners,...
natural conditions _There is a rainy and a dry season. It rains approximately 50 days per year. September and october are the wettest months with over 100mm monthly rainfall. _The topography is undulating to plain. _originally fertile soil
image _Malur is popularly known as land of silk, milk and gold. Bangalore _A growing city which needs continuoulsy more food and workers.
CASE STUDY MALUR | MALUR TODAY
EXTERNAL threats
delayed governmental programs _Although the government has prepared many programs, the people can‘t use them, because they are in continuous delay. For some reason it takes a lot of time until something happens, while the people are suffering from insufficient conditions. bureaucracy _Everything needs a lot of time in India. Every question has to be answered by several people and this delays for example the governmental programs. There are so many plans to enhance the livelihood of the rural community, but barely something is happening. corruption | favouritism _There exist many forms of hidden collaboration. It is very difficult to understand and follow these machinations. This fact makes it especially for foreign NGO‘s challenging to work out a strategy or furthermore to achieve some results. _Actually it is already forbidden to dig out soil. But some people seem to have more rights than others and continue digging soil. But the law is not restraining them. _Some people act very corrupt and takes as much advantage as possible from the locals and their environment. Therefore the soils are completely capitalised.
nature | environment _newly occuring droughts _scanty and erratic rainfall _capitalised environment growth of population _the population if India is constantly growing _people have an increased demand for water
Bangalore _Bangalore is a fast growing city which requires more and more resources every year.
deficient means of transportation _most roads are in a poor condition _Inefficiency in consequence of bad road and path network. This causes a waste of time and a loss of money.
page 80
strenghts
+100
+75
+25
75
animals
housing
drinking water bore wells
diverse economy
men driven society
housing
100
crops 75
25
50 existing networks
waste management
mindset
depleting water resources 50
people
habits
appearance
0
infrastructure of school
consistency | quality of education fertilized soil 25
infrastructure appearance
0
-25
-50
-75
weaknesses
- 100
damage for society
100
benefit for society
+50
CASE STUDY MALUR | MALUR TODAY
opportunities
+100
+75
benefit for society
+50
+25
0
appearance Bangalore image
25
50
unlike weather conditions
damage for society
0
appearance
NGOs
natural conditions | seasons
increased demand for water
infrastructure for transport
governmental programs
governmental programs
25
bureaucracy
100
75 experts
increased population 50
capitalised environment
corruption
75
100
-25
-50
-75
- 100
threads
page 82
CONCLUSION To find out all the points we have listed in this chapter, the site visits were an essential part. While we were sitting in the car, letting the landscape flying on our side, we have seen a lot of things. For example the huge and regularly appearing eucalyptus plantations are on one side nice to look at: Those tall and thin trees which allow the sunlight to play between their leaves, are creating an impressive picture. But somehow they didn‘t fit in. Usually in this region of India the trees are enourmous: a thick trunk which holds a voluminous crown of leaves. Under the shadow of these trees the people meet or the animals enjoy the cool breeze. But the eucalyptus trees are completely different and seem out of place among the other planat This is just one example of how we experienced the journeys to the site visit. But with simple observing we were able to identifiy many things, positive as well as negative ones. The site visits were always very interesting and we got the chance to be a part of the local community: we were drinking the same chai, eating the same ragi balls and sitting with the people on the same floor. We were on an equal level with these families and got the opportunity to experience things in a pure and straight way. While one of us was talking with the families, the other one took notes and tried to perceive the ambience. For this chapter we used all resources we were able to find. We obtained much information from the direct contact with the end users or experts .We benefited in many ways from these conversations and could collect a major part of the data. Another source was the internet. We were looking for usable information and were lucky to find some case studies. Apart from that there isn‘t much to find - it seems that Malur is just a little bit too small to be mentioned in the world wide web. Another source were the experiences we made last year. We already knew some facts and could take advantage from our last projects. In the next chapter we will combine these facts and create strategies, which will help the local community to achieve a better livelihood.
CASE STUDY MALUR STRATEGIES
In the analysis we have detected problems and weaknesses as well as strengths and opportunities for the region of Malur and Ramnathapuram. In this chapter we will structure all these points into packages, describe the complex of problems and the suggest some strategies and ideas. The strategies will be composed by the problems and the positive points of the SWOT analysis, namely the strengths and the opportunities. These combinations are always shown in a graphic. The problems as well as the proposed strategies are divided into macro- location and micro- location. This allows us to be a bit more specific. Macro stands for Malur and micro for Ramnathapuram. In the whole documentation this is handled like this.
page 84
DEPLETING WATER TABLE - COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEMS The exploitation of water resources is a serious problem which has to be solved soon. The ground water doesn‘t have a chance to recover by itself, because the available water is used immediately. The cultivation of high water intensive crops 14 like tomatoes or eucalyptus trees, have a serious impact on the ground water table. 20 years ago the farmers started to grow eucalyptus plantations along the water tanks. The immense thirst of these trees led to drying up of the water tanks. For that reason a major part of the water tanks in Malur are exploited and the farmers depend on bore wells for the irrigation of their fields. Neither in Ramnathapuram nor in Malur there are water catching facilities. There are no check dams or dykes in the landscape and also the roof tops are not used for water catching. The growth of the population and the increased requirement for water are also responsible for the decreasing groundwater table. complex of problems The nitrate concetration in the groundwater has increased because of the extensive use of fertilizer. Unfortunately the fertilizers have a serious impact on the soil - it is poisoned! The nitrate concentration in the soil is augmented and influences the quality of the groundwater 15. This is a serious problem, especially in the regio of Malur, where farmers use high amounts of fertilizer. The drinking water is coming from bore wells. It‘s quality is sufficient until a depth of 200 meters 16. But right now the ground water table is ~300m under earth and hence the water is too contaminated. Therefore the water is causing health issues like diarrhoea and stomach problems, which are especially for children very dangerous. The people of Ramnathapuram mostly don‘t have access to a private water facility. They are depending on others and the amount of water they get per day is limited.
14 S.V: Subba Rao, T. Abraham, A. Cotton, Trends in Surface and Ground Water Use in Kolar District, Foundation for ecological security, Gujarat IND, 2005 15 Shri K. Kumaresan, Ground water information booklet, Kolar district, Karnataka, Bangalore, 2009 16 Mr. Babu
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
depleting water table
macro-location
micro-location
dependency on bore wells for irrigation
consumption of ground water
dependency on bore wells for drinking water
dependency on bore wells for drinking water
high water intensive crops
no water catching facilities
increased population
no access to safe drinking water
increased water demand
Practically no private access to water.
no water catching facilities increased nitrate concentration in the groundwater Water coming from bore wells is contaminated, because it is coming from a depth of ~1‘000 feet. health issues like diarrhoea, are weaking the people
benefit +
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appearance +
main factors supporting factor
- damage
+ appearance
18 relationship scheme
combination NGOs and some of the governmental programs know how to build or rejuvenate water tanks. The skilled and interested people from the village can be involved in the building process and learn how to handle a water tank. The 50 rainy days per year can fill the tanks easily and the locals, not depending anymore on the bore wells, could use the water for irrigation directly from the tank. The nitrate concentration can only decrease if the farmers use less fertilizer. Belaku for example knows how farmers could minimize their amount iof fertilizer while keeping the same level of quality.
possible strategies | micro- location _In Ramnathapuram there is enough roof area to collect water. _Installing a water tank directly in the village. Hence people have private access to a water facility. possible strategies | macro- location _There are many water tanks which haven‘t been maintained in the past years. The tanks are mostly not completely destroyed and it is possible to rejuvenate them. These tanks are already placed on the most adequate points in the landscape and as soon as they function again, they will provide a huge benefit for the people. _There is enough space for building new water tanks. _The given topography allows to install check dams and dykes. The water won‘t be able to flow off fast, will slowly hydrate the soil, finally reach the ground water table and probably fill it. Even more, these installations will prevent soil erosion. _Teaching the farmers how to reduce the use of fertilizer.
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
C APITALISED SOIL - COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEMS Brick factories consume a lot of firewood, exploit the wood resources and encourage deforestation. Finding solutions to improve the factory‘s perfomances is an essential point to stop the vanishing wood resources. Furthermore there is a constant need of firewood for domestic use. Compared to the factory‘s amount it is almost not negligible, but still remains a factor which has to be observed. For being sustainable, we need trees, which means replanting the cut trees. The replanted trees should be local ones, which are used to the given site conditions and will grow well. Therefore the current drastic situation with eucalyptus trees could be avoided.
capitalised soil
macro-location
micro-location
deforestation because of brick factories
consumption of firewood for cooking
high water intensive crops
extensive use of fertilizer is weakening the soil
benefit +
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appearance +
main factors supporting factor
- damage
+ appearance
19 relationship scheme
combination There are already solutions how to enhance the performance of the brick factories. With only small improvements it is possible to reduce the amount of firewood used maintaining the same quality of bricks or even better. Somehow the brick owners don‘t trust these proposals and are not willing to invest time or some money in the changes. An idea to reduce the consumption of firewood is the use of cow dung. Cow dung is available in the village and could be utilized as fuel. Cow dung could at least replace some amount of firewood used or even better, it could be stored in a tank and produce biogas. Belaku has a wide knowledge about agriculture. They can teach the farmers how to reduce the use of fertilizer on their fields. So the farmers will spend lesser money on fertilizer, will produce healthier food and the soil gets time to recover a bit. Furthermore the nitrate concentration in the soil and ultimately in the groundwater will be reduced. This will have a positive impact on the drinking water and therefore on the health of the people. It would be important to make a market research to find out which plants (vegetables, fruits and crops) are the most suitable and bring better sales revenues. Obviously these plants have to be local. The advantage of local plants is, that they are used to the given conditions and will grow well. So the extensive use of fertilizer is not necessary. It is possible to combine this strategy with a sustainable, independent water harvesting system. Malur has a certain reputation and could take further advantage of this situation. If they create a brand with healthy food coming from that region, it will prove to be a good way to sell these products. It doesn‘t have to be organic, but produced in a sustainable way. Once the brand is created, and the products achieve a good quality, they should be sold in „bio shops“ or high-end shops. In the future it is even possible to launch a restaurant which cooks mainly with these products. possible strategies | micro- location _Implementing cow dung as fuel. possible strategies | macro- location _The factory owners should apply the existing proposals to improve the perfromance of their brick factories. _Market research to proof the demand on sustainable produced products. _Teach the farmers how to reduce the use of fertlizer. _Create a brand which speaks for itself. _Find shops which are interested in selling these products. _Create a proper marketing strategy. _Expanding and find a restaurant who uses only these products.
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
I NSUFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE - COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEMS The existing infrastructure is in many way insufficient and restrains many activities. The roads in Malur are in a bad condition and it is impossible to have a smooth traffic movement. Waste management policies don‘t exist. People throw their rubbish on to open ground or any empty space available thus polluting the landscape with waste. The village of Ramnathapuram doesn‘t have access to a continuously working public transport system. Reaching Malur using public transport becomes a difficult task. To reach the nearest bus station, people have to walk more than four kilometers. There are no check dams or dykes in the landscape and also the roof tops are not used for water catching. There are several water tanks but they are mostly dried up. This is because of wrong maintenance and the high water intensive crops like tomatoes or bananas. Neither in Malur nor in Ramnathapuram there are water catching facilities although there is a lot of roof area which could catch the water. Although there are several self help groups, there is no appropriate space for social interaction in Ramnathapuram. A community center provides a space for several activities. Evening classes for adults could be held there, workshops could be conducted there with people discussing their ideas with each other. If adults are educated they will become more aware of the importance of good education for their children and would encourage them to regular school attendance. In a community center the kids could even meet in the night time in one illuminated room to exchange their daily learnings, teach one another and share ideas as well as dreams. The self help groups inherit a constantly more important role in Ramnathapuram. Already 36 families (mostly the housewives) of 50 families are members in a self help group. The women organise themselves and help each other in difficult situations. The participating families are getting stronger because of the housewives‘ effort. Probably, husbands would start appreciating their women a bit more and children will also realise these efforts. Gradually, with time, the community has a possibility to change for the better.
page 90
insufficient infrastructure
macro-location
micro-location
roads are in bad condition
no waste management
no waste management
no access to public transport
no water catching facilities
a space for social interaction is missing
most of the existing water tanks are dried up
a playground for the children is missing no water catching facilities no access to health facilities
benefit +
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
20 relationship scheme
+ appearance
appearance + - damage
main factors supporting factor
combination A waste management system in the village and the city could improve the quality of cohabitation in many ways. Furthermore it generates new jobs. There are experts who could teach the people how to separate waste and how to continue processing. A possibility might be a collective biogas tank or the producing of agrowaste-boards for construction purpose. It is possible to build a community center with the help of the local people .If a community center is too expensive or if there is no space for it, a multi- use of the school space can be an interesting option. That means during the days the building is used by the children and in the evening the self help groups could meet there and discuss their program. possible strategies | micro- location
_Organising light for the school. So one room can be illuminated in the night and the children can exchange their knowledge. One exchange can be from the older to the younger ones, like a coaching. It is also a possibility for children who missed school because they had to work to be taught by others. _Building a playground for the children. _Building a community center which provides each group with a space. _Supporting and encouraging existing self help groups. _Showing how to use the roof top as a water catching facility. possible strategies | macro- location _Use all the roofs for water catching. _Rejuvenate the existing water tanks.
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H OUSING - COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEMS A dangerous factor in the houses is the smoke from the firewood and kerosene. That causes serious health issues especially for the women and children, because they work in the kitchen for most of their time in a day. There are experts which could implement (existing) solutions. Furthermore it would be essential to find ways to enhance the ventilation in the houses. This will cool down the inside temperatures as well as refresh the air. Normally it is quite dark inside the houses. To prevent the use of kerosene for lighting the house, some tiles in the roof could be replaced with a transluscent material. At the moment the cattle sheds have to be rebuilt every year because they are made of palm leaves. So after the rainy season they have to be replaced. If someone is planning to build a new house, it is important to implement new materials as well as techniques to enhance their quality of life. At the moment the cost of the materials is too high compared with their quality. The roof area is not used as water catching facility.
housing
micro-location expensive construction
no water catching facility
insufficient light and ventilation inside the house
no facility to store the biomass (dung, greens,...)
cooking with firewood and kerosene
unsustainable construction materials
benefit +
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
21 relationship scheme
+ appearance
appearance + - damage
main factors supporting factor
combination Just small changes in the construction could improve the livelihood of the inhabitants. There are many experts, for example architects, who know how to change the existing situation to the better. It will be possible to reduce the cost of new buildings while enhancing the quality at the same time. An idea to reduce the consumption of firewood is the use of cow dung. Cow dung is available in the village and could be utilized as fuel. Cow dung could at least replace some amount of firewood or even better, it could be stored in a tank and produce biogas.
possible strategies | micro- location _Enhancing the ventilation and light situation with small changes in the roof and walls. _Finding more resistant constructions and materials for the cattle sheds. _The families who have cows could install tanks to collect the dung. This dung will be stored in a tank and will produce biogas. This is less harmful than the common wood and furthermore it‘s co 2 neutral. _Using the roof for rain water harvesting, tanks could be subsurfaced. _Finding new constructions and materials to enhance the durability of the houses. _Implementing more water harvesting facilities and toilets.
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O BSCURE MACHINATIONS - COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEMS In India there is a lot of bureaucracy - everything needs a stamp or has to be approved by a more or less important person. This delays and complicates practically all the development plans. There are many different governmental programs planned, also in the state of Karnataka. There are for example eleven different programs in the „Department of Women and Child Development“ 17. Unfortunately not many women and girls can benefit from these projects, because of the bureaucratic hences they are making very slow process. Corruption is widely spread, also in Malur and Ramnathapuram. These hidden relationships are almost invisible to foreigners but it‘s impossible to avoid them. With the payment of some money or the promise of a favour many processes advance much faster. The different castes divide the community- there are people with more rights and higher sense of value, and people with lesser appreciation. In Ramnathapuram there are living 256 people, 202 belong to a lower caste and 54 belong to an upper caste. Although there are four times more people in the lower caste, they don‘t have the same influence on the village, because their opinion and needs have a much lower value. 17 http://dwcdkar.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=114&lang=en, 03.04.2012
obscure machinations
macro-location
micro-location
bureaucracy
higher and lower castes
corruption
corruption
delay of governmental programs higher and lower castes
benefit +
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
22 relationship scheme
+ appearance
appearance + - damage
main factors supporting factor
combination It will be very difficult to minimize the corruption and bureaucracy. The existing networks of the NGOs have to be used, because they already have contact to important people. To enhance the progress of the governmental programs as well as the programs of the NGOs, the local people have to put pressure on the government. They really have to show and express that they need help. Trustworthy people and self-help-groups have to be supported by NGOs or governmental programs. They are a benefit for the aid schemes as well as for the villagers. It‘s unbelievable that there are so many good and well worked out aid programs but that they do not reach the people. This is frustrating and we don‘t know how many people‘s lifes could be saved if some of the programs finally started. The caste system has resisted the strong impact of buddhism, the many centuries of Mughal and Afghan rule as well as the British colonial rulers 18. All these powerful influences were not able to loosen up this system. A tremendous effort is required in the future to resolve this strong way of thinking 18 Dirks N. B., Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India, Princeton University Press, 2001
possible strategies | micro- location _Make the people aware that all of them value the same. possible strategies | macro- location _Support trustworthy people and institutions. _Make the people aware that all of them are worth the same.
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S OCIAL STRATISFACTION - COMPLEXITY OF PROBLEMS The society in India, especially in rural regions, is strictly structured. On one hand there are the castes, which are still playing a leading part. Every person knows exactly to which caste she or he belongs. The caste system divides the society in different communities. Amongst other things this social stratification led to a social restriction, because there are groups which are more powerful than others. In Ramnathapuram there live 256 people, 202 of them belong to the scheduled caste, the lowest caste of the Indian society. All over India 16.2% 19 of the inhabitants belong to this caste, in Ramnathapuram ~79%! On the other hand we‘ve observed that the society in Ramnathapuram is strongly men driven. The male people of the village have much more rights, this is even valid for the smallest ones. „Men are superior to women“ 20. This fact causes several problems in the society which restrain the process of reaching equal rights for men and women. 19 Government of India | Ministry of home affairs, Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Population, http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/ India_at_glance/scst.aspx, 14.05.2012 20 Joshi A., Essay on the Place of Women in Indian Society, http://www.preservearticles.com/201105116458/essay-on-the-place-of-women-inindian-society.html, 14.05.2012
social stratisfaction
micro-location strong mindset
lack of education
imperilling habits
higher and lower castes
men driven society
benefit +
CASE STUDY MALUR | STRATEGIES
23 relationship scheme
+ appearance
appearance + - damage
main factors supporting factor
People are used to do things in a certain way and have a clear opinion about their common practices, even if they threaten their health. They are not questioning their current habits and aren‘t much interested in changing them from one moment to another. Many NGOs, Indian and foreign ones, have already tried to convince the villagers in changing some of their established practices but their are not willed to invest time and eventually some money. Nedless to mention that the villagers possess only scarce financial resources but this is definetely not the main reason of not applying the well- intentioned help. Furthermore there is a lack of education. Even though the literacy rate adds up to ~74%, many people are not able to write or read in a proper, sufficient way. There is a lack of education for children as well as for adults. The children don‘t have a continuous education because they have to work two or three days with their parents. Additionally many teachers didn‘t have a promising training and aren‘t able to teach their pupils in a satisfying way. combination It will be a challenge to change the village‘s society just a little bit. The mindset of the people is tremendously strong and each group, which is influental, will fight for their current rights. The more powerful families of the higher castes won‘t be willing to give up their strong influence, the men won‘t accept equal rights for women. This change needs a lot of time and can happen little by little. Therefore the existing networks of the NGOs have to be used, because they already have contact to the important people. Only if those people agree with changes, it‘s possible to make them happening. It is necessary to include the men in the social activities. Until now only the women are organised in self-helpgroups. If they are emebedded in one of those groups they will be aware of the problems which occur in their village. Evening classes for adults can rehabilitate the missing education. In those classes the community can also be taught of knowledge they could need for their daily life, for example alternate cooking methods. Common teacher or experts of NGOs can hold the lectures. possible strategies | micro- location _make the people aware that all of them value the same _support trustworthy people _evening classes for adults _embedding men in self helf groups and letting them participate in an active way _communicate alternate methods for imperilling habits in an understanable way
page 98
CONCLUSION As we showed in this chapter, it is definetely possible to enhance the livelihood of the inhabitants of Ramnathapuram. There are strategies on a micro- level as well as on a macro- level for the region of Malur. Now it is important to conclude this part with practical and feasible examples. We admit that there are many more solutions and the field of action could be much wider, for example by including the government. By looking forward to our thesis, we decided to focus on topics which are related with the knowledge we worked out in the last years. That does not mean that the remaining aspects won‘t have a chance to be elaborated on in an upcoming stage. The analysis we have made and the strategies we created will be given to all the people - in India and in Switzerland - so the working process can continue in the future.
CASE STUDY MALUR SOLUTIONS
As prospective architects we don‘t have the presumptuousness to solve all the occurring problems. But our analysis allows us to propose smaller and bigger interventions, which are able to enhance the people‘s quality of life. If we think about politics or corruption our field of interventions is tremendously limited. We don‘t possess the knowledge which is required to give an input. If we think about infrastructure, housing, public spaces and water harvesting it is definetely possible to work out strategies, which are able solve some of Ramnathapuram‘s problems. Acceptance and confidence are very important topics in a rural area. People are used to do things in a certain way and are not willing to change their habits from one moment to the other. Especially if a foreigner appears from nowhere and questions their common practises. This means that communication is a key point of the whole process. On one hand it is really important that the villagers understand what we are talking about, on the other hand it is fundamental that we are able to understand what they are talking about. Listening, understanding and behaving are essential aspects of a collaboration. Before starting with the solutions process, we decided that it would be good to hierarchize all the problems we saw in the last chapter. For doing that we listed all the issues in a circular diagram and we connected the topics that are related. Thanks to the number of connections of each topic we could be able to find out which one are the key point that, if just partially solved will help the whole region. Even if we are specalist just in one sector, after the whole analysis done until now, we can point out who could be responsible, or who could help bringing new solutions to enhance the quality in all the fields of our research.
page 100
COMPLEXITY CHART As mentioned before we tried to illustrate a mapping of the problems wich can help to point out the key problems. In the circular diagram is it possible to see the forementioned topics wich are connected to each other. The more connections a topic has the bigger it is written and the more influence has to the others. It is a matter of fact that most of the topics have a cause and effect relationship, and one problem is related in one way or another to all the other problems. Finding solutions for just one key problem could be an advantage for enhancing the others. Trying to enhance themes that are trying to make a nation work is not something easy to do and it‘s not something that happens from one day to the other. There are lots of experts, philosophers, politicians, that every day come up with new ideas and possible solutions for giving some better chances to a nation complex like India. What we tried to do, going a bit away from our main task, is to illustrate in a simple way who could help in a practical way to solve some big issues. On the following pages we re-examinated the issues, we put them in order of importance following the circular diagram, and we pointed out who could help to solve them.
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CASE STUDY MALUR | SOLUTIONS
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24 complexity chart dependencies and connections between the occurring problems
of
page 102
15 14 14 08 06 06 05 05 05 02
dependency on bore wells for drinking water increased water demand no water catching facilities practically no private access to water dependency on bore wells for irrigation increased population health issues like diarrhoea, are weaking the people no access to safe drinking water water coming from bore wells is contaminated increased nitrate concentration in the groundwater
17 15 14 09
lack of education strong mindset imperilling habits men driven society
14 delay of governmental programs 12 corruption 07 higher and lower castes 06 bureaucracy 14 06 05 02 02 02 01
most of the existing water tanks are dried up no access to health facilities no waste management a space for social interaction is missing a playground for the children is missing roads are in bad condition no access to public transport
10 04 03 02
high water intensive crops extensive use of fertilizer is weakening the soil consumption of firewood for cooking deforestation because of brick factories
04 03 03 02 01
unsustainable construction materials insufficient light and ventilation inside the house cooking with firewood and kerosene expensive construction no facility to store the biomass (dung, greens,...)
DEPLETING WATER TABLE SOCIAL STRATIFICATION OBSCURE MACHINATIONS INSUFFICENT INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITALISED SOIL HOUSING
DEPLETING WATER TABLE
SOCIAL STRATIFI CATION
OBSCURE MACHI NATIONS
INSUFFI CIENT INFRA STRUCTURE
CAPITA LISED SOIL
HOUSING
CASE STUDY MALUR | SOLUTIONS
EX PERTS
GOVERN MENT
GOVERN MENT
EX PERTS
EX PERTS
EX PERTS
agriculture and process managers architects and engineers health experts
government social experts teachers politics and lawyers government social experts politicians and lawyers
agriculture and process managers architects and engineers health experts
agriculture and process managers architects and engineers
architects and engineers
In the graphics, starting on the left, we see how many connections an issue has with others, in which field is ordered and who are the possible responsible entities that could bring solutions. Though the government, and indirectly the people, should bring solutions, in most of the cases it‘s only possible to find new ways with experts which know their field of action, which can interact with other experts, and which know how things work in India. As it‘s possible to read in the diagrams the biggest issues are depleting water table and social stratification. Finding solutions for the depleting water table is a really well known problem in the country and there exist already a lot of well elaborated solutions. The real big problem, as already mentioned before, is the acceptance in rural areas of new concepts or new ways to operate. If the four issues in the topic social stratification are not enhanced, it won‘t be possible for the experts to do their best. The ideas will be brought on those areas but in most of the cases won‘t be accepted. One of the ways to give a chance - to give the possibility for a change - is to bring education to the people. Learning how functions the environment where they live and where their children will grow up could be the solution of the whole drama. Even if the children can already go to public schools, the message should be given and should be accepted by the adults. If they will understand the value of learning, of the resources they have, and the possibilities they could have all the other issues could be resolved in a relative short time.
page 104
ASSEMBLING OF OUR THESIS
Talking about what we as specialists are able to do here is a list of goals we can achieve: _We can design and build prototypes of new houses, which combine existing as well as new materials and techniques. _For existing buildings we can create prototypes of design solution which can, thanks to small adjustments, augment the quality of living conditions. _Redesign the village‘s public spaces and infrastrcture and propose some variations. _Elaborate a communication concept which is able to explain the previous points in a understandable and logical way.
In collaboration with IN:CH and Habitat for Humanity these points of intervention are feasible. To motivate the villagers to participate on the program it would be really important to built a prototype directly on the site. In villages like Ramnathapuram, there is no architect. The people have a basic knowledge which is sufficient to build a basic house. By building a prototype the end users see the potential and benefits of this new house immediately and it will be easier to convince them.If we just suggest design solutions for the classic architectural part, a huge fragment of the whole analysis wouln‘t be necessary. During our stay in India many subjects became much more understandable and as when we were in Switzerland. Now we are able to identify connections as well as dependencies and we have to take care of the whole region of Malur. It doesn‘t make sense just to look at design solutions for a natural ventilation of Ramnathapuram‘s houses if the people don‘t have access to safe drinking water. To reach a holistic solution we have to include all the connected factors. In the previous chapter, called Malur today, we divided all the problems in major groups and for each one we suggested some macro-location and micro-location strategies. These strategies have to be a part of our thesis as well. Obviously our knowledge about water harvesting and agriculture for example, is limited. In Switzerland as well as in India we have met experts who can help and support us. If we use our knowledge and the knowledge of experts, we will be able to work out solutions which respect all the involved factors. As we already mentioned before, the topic communication will be an essential part of the project. It describes how we want to approach the villagers and show them our proposals in an understanable way. We don‘t speak the same language and we don‘t have the same cultural background, but for sure there is a way of communication both of us understand. It will be a large and tricky task to find a good method. But if we find a why of communication which works without written and spoken words, it can be used for further projects.
CASE STUDY MALUR | SOLUTIONS
INSUFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE
STUDENTS HOUSING
UNFORESEEN TOPICS
CAPITALISED SOIL
DEPLETING WATER TABLE 25 assembling of our thesis direct knowledge collaboration with experts communication
OBSCURE MACHINATIONS
page 106
The points on the mindmap below illustrate the basic thoughts behind housing concepts and public spaces. This is a list of general solutions which will be worked out in detail in the second part of the thesis. The idea is to come up with practical and feasible examples of sustainable architecture which can be adopted in the area of Ramnathapuram. For delivering a good job in july 2012, we still have to do research about materials, technologies and details which are appropriate and sustainable for the region.
COMMU NICATION CONCEPT
HOUSING
UPGRADE OF EXISTING HOUSES
new cooking system biogas system? solar cooker? new ideas?
annex for animals
energy solar/photovoltaic panels? upgrade of atmosphere and health upgrade of natural light upgrade of natural ventilation sanitary systems
NEW HOUSES
CLUSTERS?
sustainable materials mud, waste materials (agro-wasteboards), concrete, rock, wood?
rain water harvesting on the roof on the ground (90cm tank)
CASE STUDY MALUR | SOLUTIONS
PUBLIC SPACES
playground learning by playing
rain water harvesting on the roof on the ground (90cm tank)
annex to the existing school multi-use building (evening classes, meeting room,...)
facilities library, meeting room, play area, ... sustainable materials mud, waste materials (agro-waste-boards), concrete, rock, wood?
upgrade of atmosphere and health upgrade of natural light upgrade of natural ventilation sanitary service
page 108
CASE STUDY MALUR CONCLUSION
The last few weeks in India were very intense. On one hand there was the Indian daily routine which is very different from that in Switzerland and on the other hand there was our project. This project was foremost in our thoughts, our discussions as well as our dreams. It has become an important part of our current life. First of all we defined our hypothesis. This sentence led our work and we tried to find possible answers for it. The way we took for answering this hypothesis was long, twisted, tricky and exhausting. But joyful too. We have met so many different people and we got so many different answers for the same question that it took some effort to finally write down the analysis. This is an example of interesting communication, how it appeared pretty often: Bettina: „Mr. M., are there any water tanks in the region on Malur?“ Mr. M.: „Yes, of course.“ Bettina: „Are they still in use?“ Mr. M.: „Yes, sure.“ After a discussing related topics, which didn‘t correspond with the given answer, we repeated the question: Bettina: „Mr. M., are there water tanks in Malur, which are still in use?“ Mr. M.: „Well, Ma‘am, I am not so sure, but I think so.“ This answer was confusing us. We decided to repeat the question: Gionatan: „Mr. M., are there water tanks in Malur, which are still in use?“ Mr. M.: „No, Sir. All the water tanks are dried up.“ This example illustrates two things which are widely spread in India. First of all you have to make sure of given information several times. Otherwise it happens easily that you don‘t get the correct answer. We were not able to figure out the reason for this phenomenon, maybe lazyness or just innocent spontaneity?! The second thing is that a man‘s word still carries more value and/ or importance than a woman. This didn‘t happen often to us, but still we leave India with that impression.
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Moments like these, the difficulty to find useful material and the suddenly appearing suprises made those few weeks very intense. Many times we couldn‘t believe what was just happening in front of our eyes. Several times we arrived at a certain point and we didn‘t know how we could proceed with the project. Things were changing so fast that sometimes we didn‘t have an idea how to handle this. Sometimes we became aware of facts which are so tremendously sad that we had to make a break and just leave the work behind us for a while. Especially after the first site visit in Ramnathapuram we had to find a way to process the intense moments we experienced. Several pictures and utterances remained in our mind and were occupying our minds.To give an example we mention the little boy who was playing with brandy bottles. How is it possible that the only toys a child has are the stone-empty glass bottles of his father?! Moments like this will remain in our minds and motivate us to write a thesis which helps to enhance the livelihood of those people, especially the children. The most important awareness we got, is that all the analysed topics are related. It won‘t make sense to develop a refined housing typology if the people don‘t have access to water. If there is no water available, the people will emigrate to a place where they can satisfy their thirst. And it doesn‘t make sense to install tanks to produce biogas if there is not enough cow dung. Most of the topics are somehow related and therefore it is important that we take into account all the involved factors in our thesis. The basic three needs of the Aam Aadmi (Indian term for the average Indian) are the following ones: food, clothing and shelter 21. Hopefully, with our thesis we will be able to change at least two for the better. Ways to communicate will be an important topic of our thesis, much as it already was one in the last few weeks. We have been speaking in English, in German, in Italian and in non-understandable languages (caused by night shifts). Furthermore, we have been communicating by hand and feet as well as by drawings. This was necessary when we met the end users and when we were cooking with Manjula, the Indian cook of the office. The time we have spent in India was incredibly intense and the days passed unbelievably quickly. We have learned many different things and experienced a large number of wonderful moments. We are thankful for these last few weeks and can‘t wait to start with our thesis project.
21 Aam Aadmi, 04.04.2012, http://www.aamaadmi.com/
26 boy playing with empty brandy bottles Ramnathapuram | 2012
CASE STUDY MALUR | CONCLUSIONS
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TEAM PROCESS
TEAM ORGANISATION Since the first study year we have done projects together. So when we finally decided to do our P1 and Thesis together, we knew what we can expect from each other. In each case both of us are interested in the project and to achieve a constructional teamwork and satisfying result has always been our main goal. During the last years we found a good way to communicate with each other, to support and complement one another. We have both high expectations and are willing to invest our time, knowledge and resources. For that reason our communication is open-minded, honest and respectful. We can talk and discuss our ideas, problems and current work on a good basis and can accept the comments of the other person. But anyway we decided to write down some rules: _be focused and aware _listen to the other one - don‘t interrupt _accept other points of view _communicate in an honest and respectful way _work effectively but allow yourself a break if it‘s needed _take an evening off to free our minds _smile Both of us are really interested in architecture, art, design and graphics. For that reason we invested a lot of time in creating an adequate and coherent layout and tried to visualise as much information as possible. In our opinion this makes the whole documentation more interesting and in the end it is easier to understand it. To give people, who haven‘t been in India, a broad picture about this country, we tried to document the whole context with as many meaningful photographs and videos as possible. Because of that Gionatan took videos with his iphone at every occasion, while Bettina‘s canon camera was always with her. Beside that, both of us have their individual focal points and characteristics. Gionatan is more extraverted and is open to try new things, while Bettina observes a bit more and tends to be a perfectionist. But exactly this combination makes our collaboration interesting and we are a pretty balanced team.
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27 celebrating the Holi festival Ahmedabad | 2011
24
WORKING METHODS In our working process we have used different methods to achieve the final result. In the previous chapter we already descibed our teamwork. But beside that we used other methods: _periodic coachings with J端rg Grunder, Priya Joseph and Shruti Gopta to discuss the current work, clarify questions and plan the next steps. _meetings with experts helped us to get more information about a certain topic. _co-operative coachings witth colleagues _site visits _office work for collecting data, doing research, creating the layout, writing texts, designing graphics _short reviews to show our colleagues and coaches the current status of our work _evaluation and reflexion for being aware of our work and work process _minitasks like cooking with Manjula, cutting videos,...
TEAM PROCESS
WORKING PROCESS The following timelines show the process of our work. We have split it into the six weeks we have been working on the task.
week 1 27 th February - 4 th March mon
_out of office
tue
_out of office
wed
_first meeting with Habitat for Humanity _writing meeting protocol _research
thu
_first site visit in Malur and Ramnathapuram _writing meeting protocol
fri
_research _exchanging impressions with J端rg and Priya, then coaching
sat
_discussing first site visit _organising Indian cell phones _apero with Swissnex
sun
_out of office
week 2 5 th March - 11 th March mon
_meeting with Somwya Haran _writing meeting protocol _structuring the documentation _define content _coaching
tue
_defining layout _minitask: cooking with Manjula (tortilla with tsatsiki and toast) _write introduction about India _Movie Night
wed
_site visit in Malur _meeting with Mr, Mandela _writing meeting protocol _write introduction about India _research about Malur and its environment _trying to obtain a map of Malur
thu
_meeting with Chitra Vishwanath _meeting with Vishwanath _writing meeting protocol _description of environmental assets and actors
fri
_site visit in Malur _meeting the end users in Ramnathapruam and Doddakllahalli _Mr. Mandela acted as translator
sat
_trying to understand the livelihood of the end users _discussing the site visit and the experiences
sun
_discussing the site visit and the experiences _write introduction about India
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week 3 12 th March - 18 th March mon
_minitask: taking videos at chickpet market _video cutting with Adobe Premiere Pro _working until late
tue
_designing layout _put the data in order __check photographs, work them out in Adobe Photoshop _co-operative coaching _Movie Night
wed
_work out end user‘s portrait _finishing introduction about India environmental assets and actors _working until late
thu
_description of environmental assets and actors _coaching _evaluation and reflexion
fri
_minitask: cooking with Manjula (6kg of Gnocchi with tomato sauce and sage butter) _a new research about Malur and its environment
sat
_site visit in Malur _first meeting with Mr Babu _trying to obtain a map of Malur _short review in the evening
sun
_out of office
week 4 19 th March - 25 th March mon
_meeting protocol _description of environmental assets and actors _finishing end user‘s portrait
tue
_designing layout _put the data in order _work out end user‘s portrait _coaching _evaluation of current work _Movie Night
wed
_working in graphics _reviewing photographs
thu
_collage _working on graphics _writing introductions and conclucions
fri
_coaching _working on graphics _writing introductions and conclucions
sat
_collecting data for SWOT analysis
sun
_collecting data for SWOT analysis _correcting already written texts _working until late
TEAM PROCESS
week 5 26 th March - 1 th April mon
_working on SWOT analysis _working on schemes (relationship between actors, activities,...) _working until late
tue
_working on SWOT analysis _working on scheme (relationship between actors, activities,...) _baking Focaccia _Movie Night
wed
_working on SWOT analysis _working on scheme (relationship between actors, activities,...) _coaching _evaluation and reflexion _thinking about first strategies _working until late
thu
_working on SWOT analysis _design the graphic for SWOT analysis _working on scheme (relationship between actors, activities,...) _thinking of first strategies _working until late
fri
_short review _co- operative coaching _input: sustainable projects in Mumbai _coaching _evaluation and reflexion _working until late
sat
sun
__finishing SWOT analysis _working on strategies _reorganise layout _finally getting the map of Malur _working until pretty late
_working on strategies _correct text _add missing facts _writing the teamprocess _working until very late
week 6 2 th April - 8 th April mon
_working on strategies _add missing facts _work out solutions _coaching _working until very late
tue
_working on strategies _add missing facts _work out solutions _working until the next morning
wed
_print documentation _site visit in Ramnathapuram _asking last questions and getting last information
thu
_preparing presentation _cutting video _working until late
fri
_final review _writing thesis sketch
sat
_writing sketch
sun
thesis
_writing sketch
thesis
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CREDITS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
CREDITS All the photos were shot by Bettina Steuri, except for the photo nr. 14 shot by IN:CH, and were taken during our staying in Bangalore in March, April 2012 and Holi Festival in 2011. All the graphics, plans and drawings were done by Bettina Steuri and Gionatan Vignola. All the sources are written for re-elaborated graphics except for maps nr. 2 and 5 (wikipedia.com) and map nr. 10 (googlemaps.com). All the texts were corrected by Thomas Krebs and re-edited by Bettina Steuri and Gionatan Vignola.
SOURCES Chacko, S.: Defining Indianness, 20.03.2012, http://geography.about.com/od/indiamaps/a/Defining-Indianness.htm Twain, M.: In Praise of India- 30 Famous Quotations about India and Hinduism, 20.03.2012, http://hinduism.about.com/od/ history/a/indiaquotes_2.htm UNICEF, Statistics, 20.03.2012, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html UNICEF, Education, 20.03.2012, http://www.unicef.org/india/education.html UNICEF, Background, 20.03.2012, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_background.html FAO, Smallholder Farmers in India: Food security and agriculture organization of the United Nations, 20.03.2012, ftp:// ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/ac484e/ac484e00.pdf FAOSTAT, 20.03.2012, http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx Central Intelligence Factbook, The World Factbook, 20.03.2012, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ t he-world-factbook/geos/ in.html Benchmarking and Data Book of Water Utilities in India, 20.03.2012, http://www2.adb.org/documents/reports/BenchmarkingDataBook/Part1.pdf Delhi Water Supply & Sewerage, 20.03.2012, http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/ 05/03/000012009_20060503095630/Rendered/INDEX/36065.txt Healthcare in India, 23.03.2012, http://www.enotes.com/topic/Healthcare_in_India Magnier, M.: India lags behind in sanitation facilities, Los Angeles Times, 23.03.2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/ world/la-fg-india-toilets22-2010mar22 India marks one year since last polio case, 23.03.2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/01/201211371212764515. html
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India‘s population 2012, 20.03.2012, http://www.indiaonlinepages.com/population/india-current-population.html Yardley, J.: As Wealth and Literacy Rise in India, Report Says, So Do Sex-Selective Abortions, New York Times, 23.03.2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/world/asia/25india.html Ghosh, R.: The Hidden Factory: Child Labour in India, The South Indian, 21.03.2012, http://www.thesouthasian.org/blog/archives/2005/the_hidden_factory_child_labou.html Export Trend, 20.03.2012, http://www.cift.res.in/innercontent.php?contentid=MTgw The phenomenal growth of China and India, 19.03.2012, http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ag087e/ AG087E05.htm Pratik P. and Prabhudatta M.: India Allows Wheat Exports for the First Time in Four Years, 19.03.2012, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/india-allows-wheat-exports-for-the-first-time-in-four-years-1-.html Landes, M.: India: Basic Information, 19.03.2012, http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/india/basicinformation.htm Education in India, The World Bank, 19.03.2012, http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/ INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21493265~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html Habitat for Humanity, What we build, HFH annual report FY 2010, HFH, Americus USA, 2011 Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and export, Karnataka Global Agribusiness and Food Processing Summit 2011, Bounteous Karnataka, Bangalore, 2011 Malur, 20.03.2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malur Shri K. Kumaresan, Ground water information booklet, Kolar district, Karnataka, Bangalore, 2009 S.V: Subba Rao, T. Abraham, A. Cotton, Trends in Surface and Ground Water Use in Kolar District, F oundation for ecological security, Gujarat IND, 2005 Eucalyptus as an invasive species, 26.03.2012, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus The Kolar district, 20.03.2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolar_district Yearly trends in Kolar, 30.03.2012, http://www.myweather2.com/City-Town/India/Kolar-Gold-Fields/climate-profile.aspx S. Mande, Proceeding of workshop on dissemination of learnings of Cosmile, Theri Press, New Dehli, 2008 Aam Aadmi, 04.04.2012, http://www.aamaadmi.com/
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APPENDIX
We think it is important, to share some more material which has been important during the whole process of analysis. Every time we had a meeting with an expert, with the involved parties or with the end users, we observed and took notes of everything. The following pages are a summary of the interesting discussions we‘ve had. They are essential to understand the context of our work a bit better. Furthermore they describe our feelings and emotions. Everything is sorted by date. The documents are redacted in the following way: on the first page there is some basic information about the meeting. In the central part we have written down the contents of the meetings. In the final part there are the next steps which have to be done.
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project Malur | habitat for humanity date
February 29 th, 2012
participants IN:CH
George Grunder, Priya Joseph, Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants HfH
Thomas Mathew, Nirmala
location
Habitat Resource Centre - Bangalore
contacts
Habitat Resource Centre | nr. 27-31, Idhaya Complex 38, Gedalahalli, Kothanur Post | Bangalore - 560 077
APPENDIX
topics
first meeting IN:CH, Habitat for Humanity, students
resumé
In that first meeting we (students) were introduced to the NGO. We were supposed to clarify our part in the project and start looking at the next steps which have to be taken. What we knew, until this day, was, that we were supposed to do a LIVE PROJECT. That means: research, study, solutions, prototypes and the building of new typologies in a small village in Malur.
parties
END USER IN:CH NGO NGO
end user & architects
The end users have practical needs. The architects can provide sustainable solutions.
Belaku NGO
Belaku is close to the end user. It is a small NGO known in the neighbourhood of Malur, but it doesn‘t have economical power to help. Habitat for Humanity has the required money to help. Malur could be a good target to develop a project.
Habitat for Humanity NGO
Mr. Mathew has clarified how all the parties are working together, and what kind of “power“ they have. He told us that they are interested in a collaboration but he‘s not sure if the project will be realised or not. That‘s because there‘s a political and bureaucratic GAP between the two NGOs. Habitat for Humanity works with other NGOs, only if they are approved by the government. Belaku will need 1-2 years to get the governmental approvement.
Village in Malur region Architect and planners Belaku, Malur Habitat for Humanity, Bangalore
Mr. Mathew said that an academic work could help to understand the problems and the chances that the region has and could help to work on further projects of the HFH NGO. Nirmala on the other side, is supporting the same idea, but is willing to do something practical for the people.
End user
Belaku
know-how
IN:CH Habitat for Humanity
economic power
information flow support gap
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next steps
01.03.2012 Going to Malur and see the region and village. Meeting with end user and taking a look at the issues they have. Meeting with Belaku NGO and getting familiar with their policy. next week Get informations on NGOs (in general). Get informations on Habitat for Humanity and their policy. Understand how could it be possible to fill the gap between the two NGOs, that means: what kind of things are required from Belaku to get the government‘s acceptance?
general
Meeting at IN:CH and discussing further steps to be taken. Bring ideas. Be innovative.
APPENDIX
project Malur | first visit to Malur date
March 1 th, 2012
participants IN:CH
Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants HfH
Thomas Mathew
participants Belaku
Mr. Mandela
participants Malur
16 women of the self help group
location
Malur region
contacts
Habitat Resource Centre | nr. 27-31, Idhaya Complex 38, Gedalahalli, Kothanur Post | Bangalore - 560 077
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topics
first visit to Malur
resumé
Today we visited the perimeter for the first time. We were accompanied by Mathew who works with HfH and Mr. Mandela, who works for Belaku. We hired a taxi and explored the Malur region. We saw that most of the people are working in agriculture or are employees in a brick factory. Around midday we had a meeting with the self help group of one of the villages. Mathew and Mr. Mandela informed the women about our field study and we already started to check out their problems, needs and wishes. The women know that we will come back to visit the village.
end users
The women were pretty formal and didn‘t seem to be “happy“ about our (theoretical) field study. They mentioned, that they really need help and suddenly started to declare their problems. They told us directly what they want and expect. At the end of the meeting everything got a bit less formal and some of the women came closer and showed us their booklets and passports.
self help group
In this particular village there are 16 women in the self help group. There are some really young girls, maybe around 20 and some who are among to the eldest women of the village. So there is a heterogenic structure in this group. The elder women can help the younger ones with their experience and knowledge, the young ones can support the older women with their energy. They meet once a month and each woman brings a small amount of saved money. This amount will be jotted down in the personal passport. So there is a list with the monthly savings and the total amount saved by the woman. One of the women will bring the collected money to the bank. If one of the women needs money, for example to buy another goat or to buy school books for her child, she can make a request in the group and will get a loan.
monthly meeting of the 16 women
every woman brings her saved money
all the collected money is saved in a bank account
the amount will be jotted down in her passport
if one of them needs financial support, she can loan some money from the group
she has sufficient time to pay it back and doesn‘t have to pay any interest
APPENDIX
next steps
02.03.2012 We will have a meeting with J端rg, Priyah and Shruti to exchange our experiences. Then we will plan our next steps, especially when we will go back to Malur and have to decide how many villages we will include in our research. We need some more information about HfH to know their strategy and goals. We will contact Mr. Mandela to get some material and maps about Malur.
general
The women of the self help group know very well what they need and already have some plans for earning money beside agriculture and brick making.
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input from Somwya Haran | urban architect date
March 5 th, 2012
participants IN:CH
Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
other participants
Somwya Haran, urban architect and planner
location
IN:CH office, Bangalore
APPENDIX
topics
meeting with an urban architect and planner
resumĂŠ
Today Martin and Daniel had a meeting with an urban planner named Somwya Haran. We were invited to join the meeting, listen to it and ask some of our questions. She is engaged social housing, but for the urban poor. With her husband she has planned several smaller projects all over the country and has a wide field of experience. We explained her our project and asked for some advices and/ or inputs. She mentioned six points we really should be aware of in our analysis: Environment and water, economy, infrastructure, housing, education and health and finally the aspect of energy. It was a quite short meeting but it helped us to structure the whole project. With those topics we are able to cover all the major points.
chart l
After the meeting we made a small chart of the six topics and wrote down a few important questions for each of them. Like this we have some basic questions we can ask to our experts.
experts
Right now we have to collect as much as information as possible. So we decided to have several interviews with people who are experts on one of the six topics. Environment | water Vishwanath Economy Mr. Babu of Belaku Energy Chitra Vishwanath of Biome Health | education Mr. Babu of Belaku housing Joseph Mathai of HfH infrastructure Chitra Vishwanath of Biome Priya and JĂźrg are the heads of the project and know all the topics very well. We are the co- workers and will use different sources to get more information and material. Like this we can collect the wide experiences of several people and combine them in the project.
chart ll analysis
environment | water
economy
energy
health | education
housing
infrastructure
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next steps
06.03.2012 We will go to the office of HfH to get some information and material. Probably we will also be able to talk to Joseph, the director of HfH Bangalore. 07.03.2012 We are planning to visit Mr. Mandela in Malur and get some information about Belaku. 08.03.2012 We will have a meeting with Chitra and Vishwanath.
general
We still have to get more information about several topics. As soon as we have a huge pool of information, we can start finding a strategy. At the moment we feel that the project is stuck. The whole process of obtaining material is going very slowly and is consuming a lot of energy.
APPENDIX
project Malur | 2nd visit Habitat for Humanity date
March 6 th, 2012
participants IN:CH
Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants HfH
Director Joseph Matai, Thomas Mathew
location
Habitat Resource Centre - Bangalore
contacts
Habitat Resource Centre | nr. 27-31, Idhaya Complex 38, Gedalahalli, Kothanur Post | Bangalore - 560 077 Web
www.habitatindia.in
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topics
second visit Habitat for Humanity | looking for material
resumé
We met Mr. Mathew on time and the meeting started in a strange-to-smooth way. First Mr. Mathew asked why we hadn‘t met the day before, and when we said that we had called as well as written to him without getting an answer he became a bit defensive... Anyway, after five minutes we forgot this small discussion, drank some coffee and could finally start the meeting. Our goal was to get material and information about „Habitat for Humanity“ and to get some more details about the project in Malur. We were lucky because after ten minutes, the director of Habitat (Mr. Joseph) joined the conversation. After that, Mr. Mathew explained our current point and we had the chance to get into details about our job with IN:CH. Meanwhile Mr. Mathew left the room, because he seemd to be bored. But we realised that Mr. Joseph was interested and we got all the information we were looking for. We received printed material from Habitat which explains their ambitions, goals and finished projects all over the world as well as in India. We got some websites where we can collect data for our project. At the end we got a copy of the agreement that Belaku and Habitat have made. In that papers there are all the informations about the projects, and all the goals that could be reached in Malur. When we came back to the office we found three emails from Joseph with 2 case studies, and information about pre-fabricated toilets. Something is moving.
APPENDIX
next steps
until 11.03.2012 Read all the material received from Habitat. Ask questions if anything is not clear.
general
Continue the research with case study. Think positive.
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project Malur | second visit to Malur city - Belaku date
March 7 th, 2012
participants in:ch
Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants Belaku
Mr. Mandela
location
Belaku office, Malur
APPENDIX
topics
second visit to Malur | looking for material
resumé
We left our home willing to arrive in Malur at a decent time. But the train we were waiting for wouldn‘t stop at Bangalore East at 8.15am. We arrived at the train station quite early, so after waiting for two hours, we could finally take the train to Malur and arrived around 10.45am. We were supposed to start the discussion with Mr. Mandela and afterwards to go to Ramnathapuram to start the interviews. But by that time Mr. Mandel told us that he actually won‘t have time in the afternoon. We delayed the visit in the village for 2 days. The topics with Mr. Mandela were actually two: - getting material and data about the villages - getting some more information about the living conditions, chances
material and data
We need maps, statistics, and data which can be included in our research. Not only about Malur but also the small villages around it. The material is the following: - geographical maps - political maps - population data including statistics about the number of inhabitants, casts, gender, jobs?, health, ... He told us he will provide us with everything in the next meeting. We will see!
general information
We had a general conversation about the living conditions in the village. Our fields of research with Mandela have been: economy, health & education, infrastructure. If we think about the families the economical side is really diverse. Normally the people are working around the villages in the fields, in brick factories - or they are going to Malur to get a job on a daily basis. Generally the work on a daily basis provides an income of between 40- 80 rupees. If the people have got an education then they have the chance to work for some more rupees in Malur city or Bangalore. About education we can say that every village has an undergraduate school (10th year - children around 15-16 years old). If the family can work they will try to push the children to go to school every day. After the undergraduate school the kid will have the chance to continue its studies in Malur for the graduation and in Bangalore for the degree. But what seems to be a more realistic picture is that if the family doesn‘t have money the children will drop out of school before finishing the 10th year and will start working with the parents or in a day-to-day basis. We don‘t have clear information about the quality of the schools in the villages. We know just that they are governement schools, but we don‘t know if
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for example the teachers attend the school every day, if the students really get books and the material they need for their education. Hospitals are available just in Malur city. About infrastructure we can say, that its conditions is really below the minimal basic human needs. The houses have static and functional problems, and there‘s no house with a water facility or toilet. The houses are too small for the people living there, there is no privacy. The concept of toilets doesn‘t exist. The people are just going a couple of meters away from the village to get their needs done. They have got electricity, (1 phase and 3 phases) but just for a couple of hours at night. More or less safe drinking water is just available if they pump it out of the ground (1‘000 feet down). The concept of rain water harvesting is not known or not used. They have a couple of tanks, but most of the year they are empty. The villages don‘t have many public spaces. A public space is normally a small place under a tree. There is no infrastructure for having meetings, evenig school classes, kindergarden (anganwadi), or a workshop for doing small jobs. For every kind of shopping they have to go to Malur city. That means walking a couple of kilometers, waiting for the bus, and then finally reaching the city.
APPENDIX
next steps
09.03 or 10.03.2012 Early meeting in the morning at 8am with Mandela. He will provide us with the requested material (maps, data,...) and then we will go to the village of Ramnathapuram by bike. The idea is to get there before it will be too hot. We would like to do interviews with the people and do a portrait of 3- 5 families to get a general idea. We will try to film everything and take pictures so that we can document everything in the best way. The interview has to be informal. No forms with 100 questions, only 5-6 meaningful questions.
general
Continue the research with the case study.
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project Malur | third visit to Malur city - Belaku date
March 9 th, 2012
participants IN:CH
Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants Belaku
Mr. Mandela
location
Ramanathapuram, Dodda Kalla Halli
contacts
Mr. Mandela
APPENDIX
topics
third visit to Malur | looking for material & interviews
resumé
We arrived in Malur at 8 am. We had breakfast and somebody started playing holi. Luckily enough we didn‘t have any problems with the colour powders. When Mandela arrived, the police came and they started asking questions. It was simply a regular control, and Mandela didn‘t say too much about the reason why we were there. We had to show our passports and visas. After fifteen minutes they left us in peace. We went by car to Ramanathapuram. We started walking through the village and asked some questions. We visited four different houses and we interviewed the families. We‘ve met really different people. There was a really poor frustrated man, who had a university degree and was living in Bangalore. But he had to go back to the village. Now he works as a daily wager. We went to the small school and even if it was „Holi“ it was open. About 15 children were there plus the teacher. The school covers the 1st to the 5th degrees. We interviewed the teacher who gave us good information about the school and about the needs. Actually they have got water, enough books, toilets and the kids eat healthy food. But the problem there is to sensibilize the parents, so that the children can go to school every day. At the moment there is a 50/ 50 possibility that the kids are attending the school. If they are not there, they are helping the parents on the fields. The pupils were shy just for the first five minutes. Afterwards everyone was relaxed but always under the control of the teacher. After an half an hour we went to the next village by the name Dodda Kalla Halli. 1‘000 families live there, about 4‘500 people. The typologies of the houses are really different. It is possible to find really big houses, with almost all kind of facilities, but also really simple houses, which are inhabitated by a lot of people. We did a couple of interviews there. All the interviews will be reviewed in another documentation. After having visited the second village, we had lunch with Mr. Mandela and we came back to Bangalore.
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next steps
10.03 til 12.03.2012 Write down the portrait of the families we met. Getting the material from Mr. Mandela. Hopefully.
general
Continue the research with the case study.
APPENDIX
project Malur | meeting with Biome date
March 8 th, 2012
participants IN:CH
Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants
Chitra Vishwanath, S. Vishwanath
location contacts
Office of Biome, Bangalore Biome Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd 1022, 6th Block, 1st Floor, HMT Layout Vidyaranyapura Main Road Vidyaranyapura, Bangalore 560 097 INDIA mobile home
0091 99 01 992690 0091 98 45 182690
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topics
Meeting with Chitra and Vishwanath
resumé
Today we went to the office of Biome which is located in Vidyaranyapura, a small village outside of Bangalore City. We arrived there at 11am and talked first to Chitra. We gave her a short brief about our project and our latest experiences, especially the ones we made in Ramnathapuram. She showed us some of her projects, one is called BALA Building as learning Aid. In this project education and building were combined in one design. They built a school which showed the kids by entertainment (drawings,...) how to take care of our current environment. In the Malur project this could be a possibility to teach children in a playful way. It is a kind of unconscious teaching process, which isn‘t exhausting for the kids nor does it take a lot of time.
biodiversity
Another important point is biodiversity. Butterflies, bees and birds are highly helpful for agricultural tasks. They are responsible for so many necessary processes and need a space to live and survive. We can enhance their population by planting adequate trees and flowers, for example the Ficus tree which inhabits a lot of birds. Plants should fullfill different tasks, including nutrition and health. If we propopse certain plants it is very important, that they help the people in different ways.
brick factories
Then we talked about agriculture and brick factories. There is a specific circle which has been the same for many years: Current situation
Upcoming situation
rainy season
dry season
dry season
_water tanks are completely full _soil is manageable
_water tanks are empty _soil is dried out
_water tanks are empty _soil is dried out
earning money by agriculture
earning money by brick factories
brick factories are closed
money? families? As you can see in the chart, the brick factories won‘t last for much longer. The fire wood, now they use the roots of the eucalyptus trees, is getting more expensive and there is not much more usable soil left. The number of brick factories will be much lower in a couple of years. But what happens to the people there? The ones who depend on that money? They will emigrate to the cities because there is no other possibility to earn money.
APPENDIX
equality
Another aspect of rural Indian communities is that they are men driven. If you compare the amount of work and responsability a female person has with that one of a male person... It‘s a shame that conditions like this are accepted! It is necessary that the women are helped. There are many possibilities to support those women: _enhancing their construction skills, so they are useful and helpful in the society and can build a house according to their needs. _giving them a protected place to chat and exchange information _...
skills
Children are the future of any society. If we can improve the current education, it might help them for the future. Anyway people will leave the villages, they tend to live in a urban context. Just look at Europe. Nearly 80 to 90% of the people live in urbanized conditions, also Indian people will follow that movement. So we have to assure that they get the skills to survive in an urban context. We should take care that they don‘t just end up in slums but also have the skills to have a good job.
housing
The initial idea for coming to India was housing. This might still be a part of the project, but not the main one. It might not be a good solution to give the villagers new houses. We have to check in what condition the houses are. Maybe just some small things have to be redone. An important thing for the families are the animals which live in scattles. The scattles are a separate part of the houses. Animals, especially goats and cows, are an important source of income for the people there.
tuition center
The tuition center is a space for the community. This is a space which has light during the evening. So the children have the possibilty to learn together. This s a precious space because the older kids can teach the younger ones and the help each other like that. The light of the tuison center will be produced by solar panels. So there are only initial costs.
education
On one hand it is very important that the children receive a good education. It is essential that they learn as much as possible in those few years. But we shouldn‘t forget the parents. If they don‘t understand anymore what the children are learning, it doesn‘t make sense for them to let their kids go to school. They might think further education is not necessary. So a solution for that might be evening classes for the adults. After work they can come to the community center and learn useful things.
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next steps
09.03.2012 Visit Malur and take care of the public spaces, community centers and the school.
general Continue the research with case study. Think very positively.
APPENDIX
project Malur | first visit with Mr. Babu date
March 17 th, 2012
participants in:ch
Shruti Gopta, Bettina Steuri, Gionatan Vignola
participants Belaku
Mr. Babu, Mr. Mandela
location
Belaku office, Malur
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topics
first meeting with Mr. Babu
BELAKU
Today we met Mr. Babu from Belaku for the first time. He was abroad for the last three weeks and just returned back to India. We were glad to finally meet him. He was extremely enthusiastic and talked and talked and talked. First we had a short introduction about Belaku. Most of the board members are agricultural graduates and have workded in various development sectors: project design, evaluation, implementation,... Mr. Mandela had already explained us the major goals to us, but Mr. Babu knew a bit more and also showed us some expamples of what they have done. In the last years they supported 850 women in 30 villages and guided three different NGOs. On one hand they take care of the rural communities, show them for example how to reduce the use of fertilizer and how to grow crops in a sustainable way. On the other hand they are also interested in the urban people. They already had several workshops in the city to teach the people the handling of the roof top as a garden. We think this is a great opportunity that they combine urban and rural communities.
collaboration with H4H
Our first question was why they contacted Habitat for Humanity. We didn‘t understand this action because Habitat is responsible for housing, Belaku for agriculture. It‘s because many people spend (too) much money on housing. Habitat should help them and show how much should be invested for what.
general information
Then we started to ask questions about the villages and it was the first time we received really useful information. _He mentioned that he really takes care of the rural youth. In most of the villages live young people who are educated. They have to be supported. _He said that it is essential to respect the local knowledge and then combine it with the techniques of the NGOs. Like this the have a continuous improved process.
major problems
_In Malur and its environment there are two seasons: a dry one (Novemver to June) and a rainy one (July to October). It rains about 50 days a year and in these days it would be possible to build up people‘s capacities and knowledge, to teach them new techniques, ... In the dry season they can apply them and make hopefully good experiences.
first steps
_The major problems in the rural community are the following ones: _limited knowledge because of no or sparse education _lack of motivation _insufficiently educated adults (don‘t understand the immense value of their children‘s education) _strong and traditional mindset, men driven society _lack of opportunities _The major points for a first step: _first gain their confidence by showing examples _fullfil their needs (houses), then bring changes _enhance their capacities
APPENDIX
topics ragi versus eucalyptus
_One of the main crops is ragi. This is a stable food crop, with a high fiber content. They use the ragi straws for feeding their animals, the ragi grains are for human nutrition. Normally they get 20 loaded trucks of ragi, but 30 would be possible. This shows that there is a lack of materials and technical skills. _One acre of rai costs 8‘000 rupees a year. _The farmer could sell the harvested 800 kg for 10 rupees per kg, but he keeps 400kg for himself (food for one year) _he can sell ragi straws for 5‘000 rupees => -8‘000 + 4‘000 + 5‘000 = + 1‘000 In one year full of work he ears just 1‘000 rupees. This is not enough for one family. The eucalyptus trees are a bit different. First the farmers plant them, then they wait for three years and then they harvest them. After three years they get 30‘000 rupees per 1 acre of eucalyptus trees. That means an eucalyptus farmer earns 10‘000 rupees a year and doesn‘t have to work on the field and has no maintenance costs. This brief overview shows why so many farmers prefer to plant eucalyptus plants instead of ragi. It is known that the eucalyptus trees need a lot of water. Their roots reach deep into the earth and use the sparse resources of the ground water. People know that the trees need a large amount of water so they planted them around the water tanks. This is „good“ for the trees, because they have enough water. But it is seriously bad for the environment and the people, because the water tanks are empty! After 20 years of harvesting eucalyptus trees all the water tanks are dried out. For the last 20 years many farmers made quite some good money, but now, they are facing huge problems.
major problems
_Major
problems in the Malur region: _over-exploitation of water resources _no access to fertile soils, because of the extreme use of fertilizer _quality of drinking water _not connected to good roads _almost no public transport _emigrating youth _lack of health facilities _destroyed water tanks _empty water tanks
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next steps
Now we have profound information of what‘s going on in Malur and its villages. It is a good basis for the analysis. While creating the concepts we will meet Mr. Babu again. So he can give us some more inputs and can give us a direct feedback.
general
We are glad that we finally met Mr. Babu. He has a huge knowledge and is very interested in our project.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO...