Bamboo to the rescue as villages rebuild after the floods

A year ago, Shani Dana's mudbrick house was swept away in the worst floods on record to hit Pakistan. More than 1,700 people were killed and 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Sindh province, where Dana lives, was the most badly affected.

-  Zofeen TEbrahim

While waiting for government money to rebuild her home in Wasram village, in the Tando Allahyar district, word reached Dana that the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan (HFP), founded by a renowned architect, Yasmeen Lari, was building one-room homes in neighbouring Pono village. The buildings "looked like rounded chauhras [traditional huts], but were octagonal in shape and the walls were much sturdier," said Dana.

The foundation agreed to help Wasram rebuild and in March the HFP team joined villagers to construct 50 homes. Prefabricated bamboo frames were built on metre-high raised platforms. Walls made of bamboo canes were fixed and plastered with mud mixed with rice husk and lime, and conical roofs fitted. Four solar panels, six handpumps for water and 25 toilets were also built.

"This will not be swept away if the floods come again. It is not built at ground level, it's airier and brighter, since there is a window - ours didn't have one before - and also looks much neater, since the walls and floor are plastered," said Dana, showing off her new home.

Lari, a champion of sustainable, low-cost buildings, who designed the chauhras, said a loft could be added to create extra sleeping space or storage.

The HFP has helped build more than 5,000 chauhras since last September. "In the next two months, I should be able to build another 2,600 homes," said Lari, who is urging every villager who has built their home to help 10 others build theirs.

Tens of thousands of people are still waiting for help to rebuild. Organisations such as HFP and the NGO Karachi Relief Trust (KRT) have stepped in.