Building Disaster Resilience through Sustainable Housing: An Initiative in Meghalaya

Abstract

Rural housing is witnessing a huge transformation. In the hurry to catch up with their urban counterparts, fuelled by their aspirations, the rural populace is fast discarding traditional ways of building. This is leading to a discontinuity of building traditions, architectural heritage and ways of life. Many government housing programmes have only aided this by prescribing single-format solutions that are alien, dependent on external materials and skill sets, and expensive. This, in turn, has resulted in the discarding of disaster-resilient features encoded in traditional architecture. To address this, an initiative was undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development and the UNDP to look afresh at the development of sustainable alternatives for rural housing in a few states. A comprehensive study of rural housing, both past and present, traditional and modern-day constructions in the various geographic regions of the state was undertaken. Distinct housing zones were identified, followed recommendations for design and sustainable construction technologies for each zone. Disaster-resilient sustainable alternatives for each housing zone identified were given form through a consultative process with key stakeholders; the people of rural Meghalaya, block and district-level government representatives and professionals from the state. The technologies identified borrow from traditional examples and can be built using existing skill sets. These sustainable building technologies aid in building long-term resilience beyond mere disaster-resistant structures by rejuvenating local building abilities, creating opportunities for better livelihoods and therefore an environment to recover with relative ease from any natural disaster.