Project Suitcase - Manchenahalli

Rayanakallu village, in Manchenahalli Gram Panchayat, Gauribidanur Taluk, Chikkaballapur District has 24 homeless tribal families. They are living in dire poverty and in very primitive conditions for more than a decade, just about 130 km from Bangalore. The community comprises of mostly women and children below 10 years of age.

They are currently living in thatch huts and tarpaulin tents, with no toilets, bathrooms, electricity and drinking water facilities. Such abysmal living conditions have a direct impact on children's mental health, physical health and they're overall wellbeing and development. Lack of security makes women and children vulnerable to sexual abuse and attacks from snakes and rodents. The community is also vulnerable to harsh weather conditions like heavy wind and rains.

An unfortunate incident of a baby getting burnt in their hut triggered the Tribal Welfare Department to approach Nivasa with the request to build temporary homes for them while the District Administration works on allocating land, housing scheme, skill development and other measures to rehabilitate them.

Project Suitcase is a temporary housing solution for the landless homeless till the issue of permanent housing is resolved by the Government. Suitcase house is a toolkit of housing components, which can be assembled by the homeowners themselves; They are portable, affordable, reusable, flexible and expandable based on the end user's requirements. We have crowdsourced and built 10 houses for the community so far.

For the lower-income segments in our society, architectural intervention in design and materials is VERY essential, but unfortunately, it is neither available nor affordable. Nivasa seeks to fill this gap through developing common palettes of design for socio-economic, cultural and geographic groups, with the support of donor organizations. The shelter is a basic human right and we believe everybody deserves live in a humane and dignified manner irrespective of their economic background.

After we started building suitcase homes for the first 10 families, the local Gram panchayat came forward to provide them with clean drinking water and community toilets. The Nirmiti Kendra of Chikkaballapur District trained them in block making which has provided the community with a new skill and an alternative income. Nurse and doctors from the local PHC visit the community regularly to provide medical care.