Fieldwork Towards Off-grid and Self-reliance

Vulnerabilities of communities, in times of extreme weather events or pandemics are exacerbated without access to clean water, highlighting the urgent need of an off-grid solution. In case of the ongoing pandemic, the instruction of washing hands thoroughly and frequently for 20 seconds to prevent contagion, puts people in informal settlements at a much higher risk (Mishra, 2020). With a drastic drop in the frequency of private tankers to provide water in areas without municipal supply, people are forced to stand in queues to secure their water needs. This unprecedented experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to create self-reliant communities. One such informal settlement located by a stream of the Sabarmati River will be explored by site survey and interviews during the fieldwork period of the research.

In the next stage of the research, I will explore the spatial working of ‘communitybased systems’ by studying the implementation of the Million-well project in Bangalore. The project exemplifies the maintenance of water as a community resource and has revived, in part, the dying community spirit. It showcases the vital role that individual households, the community and well-diggers play to protect water sources while creating spaces for both water and people; providing a glimpse of a hopeful solution.

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