The Bridge by Calvin JS

THE BRIDGE A Participatory Designing Tool For Housing Calvin J Stanley Thesis Project 2020

Human Centered Design

CALVIN JUDE STANLEY Thesis Project 2020 (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka

THESIS PROJECT 2020 THE BRIDGE

A participatory designing tool for housing STUDENT:

CALVIN JUDE STANLEY

PROJECT:

Moving Home

SPONSOR:

Self initiated

PROGRAM:

Undergraduate Professional Programme

AWARD:

Human Centred Design

GUIDES:

Ranjani Balasubramanian

Copyrights 2019-2020 Student Document Publication (for private circulation only) All Rights Reserved Thesis Project (Undergraduate Professional Programme) Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning, photography and video recording without written permission from the publishers namely Calvin Jude Stanley and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Written, edited and designed by Calvin Jude Stanley Printed at Kolor Kode, Bangalore

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PLAGIARISM STATEMENT I, CALVIN JUDE STANLEY, hereby declare that the content of this student documentation and final design/artwork submission is my own original work and has not been plagiarised in full or part from previously published/designed/manufactured material or does not even contain substantial propositions of content which have been accepted for an award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis project. I also declare that the intellectual content of this Thesis Project is my own original work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style and presentation is acknowledged and that this Thesis project (or part of it) will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I, CALVIN JUDE STANLEY, hereby grant Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology the right to archive and to make available my Thesis Project in whole or in part in the institute’s databank and website, and for non-commercial use in all forms of media, now and hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act.

Name: Calvin J Stanley Signature: Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this oppertunity to thank Ranjani for providing this thesis project which I thoroughly enjoyed and got a lot out of. Thank you for your ever present hope in me, motivating me when I felt like I couldn't come up with anything, and having enthusiasm in my ideas no matter how weird they sounded to me. Thank you so much to Mr. Sibi Varghese Sir, for being ever present and answering all the queries I had during my project. I am extremely grateful for your help and thank you for also providing me with further contacts to gain a better understanding for my project. Mr. Shashi of Poothadi Panchayat and Mr. Rahim Faisal of Kaniyambetta Panchayat, I will forever be grateful to you for welcoming me even though I was a stranger and trusting me enough to give me the information needed for my project and also showing me the LIFE colonies. Special thanks to all the people of Wayanad that I interacted with in both my field visits. Your stories have truly stuck by me and changed my perspective of many things in life.

CONTENTS BACKGROUND 1 - 6 PROPOSAL

7 - 12

SECONDARY RESEARCH

13 - 26

PRIMARY RESEARCH

27 - 38

LIFE MISSION

39 - 54

IDEATIONS AND ITERATIONS

55 - 70

FINAL OUTCOME

71 - 84

BIBLIOGRAPHY

85 - 86

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT

87 - 88

BACKGROUND

BRIEF Floods are one of the most widespread and destructive manifestations of climate change , with 4.84 million people in India annually exposed to river flooding and 14.3 billion dollars exposed to the risk . The number of environmental refugees displaced by floods and other climate related disasters is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. In 2018 and 2019 alone, the state of Kerala has had extreme rainfall, devastating floods and landslides which have caused the death of close to 500 people and displaced over 2.5 million people. This project explores the idea of home and displacement in three vulnerable communities of Wayanad, Kerela, with the aim of understanding and co-designing alternatives for post disaster habitats. Home is much more than the physical shell of the house – it is a set of relationships between people and places expressed through spatial configurations, socio-economic practices and material culture. What happens to this home when it is forced to move? Is it possible to recreate home or even some elements of it? Do we make our homes or do our homes make us? Exploration Disaster and displacement is leading a forced discourse on re-evaluating our ideas of habitat and shelter. In the homogenised idea of home presented in post disaster rehabilitation, communities with diverse and non-mainstream lifestyles are being pushed to conform to standardised living creating a chasm in which whole worldviews and knowledge systems are lost.

This place based project will work in collaboration with the Wayanad District Administration well as tribal communities to develop designs for pluralistic and sensitive habitats for different communities. The project will question what the elements of home are to these communities and how they carry these elements of home with them through practices, relational configurations, objects, rituals and spatial logics. It also examines how the incident of displacement modifies the manifestation of the home. Challenge Based on studies of undisrupted habitats and existing rehabilitation habitats the students will be expected to collaborate with communities and administrative organizations to develop alternative paradigms, narratives, documentation, engagements or spatial designs for new formats of living in post disaster scenarios. The students will be encouraged to juxtapose vernacular and contemporary worldviews to develop new, hybrid habitats that can facilitate the resilient transition of communities into the new and challenging times to come. Possible Outcomes Designing new types of homes; participatory frameworks and processes for collaborating with local communities; Illustrated or written books that can serve to represent alternate ideas of home; mapping and archiving; documentation and/or design of material and object cultures; films documenting vernacular/traditional/transitional themes around the idea of moving home; developing systems innovations for post disaster reconstruction of habitats; and many more.

UNPACKING THE BRIEF

SITE OF INQUIRY Wayanad is a district in the North-east of Kerala, bordering Karnataka in the North and Tamil Nadu to the East, located in the crest of the Western Ghats. It’s topographically extremely diverse with hills, meadows and paddy fields. Its name has said to be derived from “Vayal Nadu” which translates to the land of paddy fields. Due to its positioning in the Western Ghats, Wayanad has a mean average rainfall of 2,322mm. It also has a dense forest cover which stretches across its bordering states by the name of Bandipur in Karnataka and Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu.

There are 5 prominent tribes. Many families practised community farming and shifting agriculture. With British invasion, and documented landowning, the underprivileged Adivasis were deprived of land. The efforts of revolting tribes culminated in formation of a tribal wing in the CPI(M). The Forests Rights Act, 2006 is a significant mark of progress in the country. The much awaited Right to Land is conferred to the isolated tribes. Now settlements in protected forest areas such as Begur Range, are adapting to the new lifestyle of organisation under Panchayats, and getting access to schools and medical facilities.

This district has a population of 8,17,420 people as per the census of 2011. Of this, the tribal population, consisting of 11 tribes of the region, is 1,51,443 people. Before the Malabar migration of the 1920s, Wayanad had a population that had a majority of tribals. Since migration is a socio-economic phenomenon, the richer migrants took up a majority of the land. This gave rise to landlessness and homelessness of the locals.

In 2018 floods battered Wayanad and destroyed and damaged lot of public and private property and claimed the lives of 350 people and displaced 8 lakh others. The floods happened again in 2019 along with 80 landslides (big and small). Just when the people were recovering, they were hit by this disaster again. These made them question their own land and their own homes, thus, feeling unsafe. These disasters also gave rise to many becoming homeless.

Being 44 per cent forest, it is a biodiversity hotspot and thrives on agriculture and tourism. True to Wayanad, 17 percent of the population consists of tribal/adivasi communities who share a long, and intimate relationship with their land. They earn their livelihoods through animal husbandry, agriculture and as daily wage laborers.

A collage of images shot in Wayanad during field visits, along with articles from the Times of India about the 2018 floods.

PROPOSAL

DESIGN BRIEF APPROACH This project aims to create a digital interactive platform that acts as a participatory design tool for housing, where LIFE mission can display their models of the houses and the user can experience a model in the environment it will be situated in, select and customise a model of home, after taking an informed decision.

POSITIONING The essence of “home” is one that I have been in search of for a long time. Given that I come from a mixed culture family, and that my family and I have shifted all throughout my life in India as well as abroad, what home means to me is always changing. Different decorations collected from different “homes” adorns the walls and cupboards of my current home, just so that the place seems much more than it is. Every time we shifted, the empty house felt, both metaphorically as well as physically cold, and there was a need to decorate it and do it up. The people whom LIFE mission is catering to are landless and/or homeless people. Shelter comes under the most basic and important need of man, a physiological need. Love and belonging, another need of man, describes a sense of family and connection. Although the basic need of shelter is being catered to by the LIFE mission, I would like to help satisfy the need of belonging and sense of connection that the beneficiaries of the LIFE mission are devoid of in their new “houses”. 9

As a student of Human Centered design, I would like to look into this project as a user experience designer and a creator of interactive systems. I would like to approach this project in a collaborative manner, with the beneficaries, the contractors responsible for construction of the LIFE Mission houses as well as the village extension officers of the various Panchayats who implement LIFE Mission. I would like to explore interactive applications for computers as a method to be used in the scenario of creating a home in the context of Wayanad, Kerala.

METHOD The project shall be done by analyzing the procedures that LIFE mission follows and positioning my intervention accordingly. Following this, I shall engage in participatory design methods with the beneficiaries of LIFE mission to help understand their idea of home, through the following participatory research activities – • By describing their current home and looking at the positive and negative aspects of it. • By understand their wants, needs and desires in a home. Following this, I would like to explore the use of an interactive computer application as a tool for visualizing the output.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

Through the course of this project, I would like to learn how to look beyond the visceral aspects of a community and their space of dwelling, and look at the feelings and emotions and intangible aspects that make someone's home what it is. I would also like to gain the experience of engaging with government schemes and plans. Moreover, I would like to learn the technicalities as well as the intangible aspects of introducing emerging technologies to emergent users.

PLAN OF ACTION

A one and a half month break was taken during the course of this project across the months of April and May. The break was taken to get used to the new life that the COVID-19 Lockdown had caused.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

TOPICS COVERED DURING SECONDARY RESEARCH

Main areas of focus in project space

PEOPLE OF WAYANAD As per data from the draft report - ‘Scheduled Tribes of Kerala: Report on Socioeconomic Status’ published by Scheduled Tribe Development Department, Govt. of Kerala, in November 2013, tribal population in the district of Wayanad was 1,53,181, with 36,135 families. Scheduled Caste made up 4% of the total district population and Scheduled Tribes made 17%. The tribes found in the region of Wayanad are - Adiyas, Kurichiyas, Kurumas, Kattunaikans, and the Paniyas. The Adiyas - They are traditionally called Ravulayar and were a slave sect. - In a typical nuclear family, the husband is the head. - They are divided into 20 classes called ‘Mandu’ and the head of a Mandu is called Chommikkaran or Peruman. - They practise polygamy. The Kurichiyas - They are the 2nd largest adivasi community in Wayanad. They consider themselves top of the caste hierarchy. - They believe to have been named by the Kottayam Raja, for their community's expertise in archery. The name Kuruchiya is derived from 'Kuri Vecham' which means "he who took aim." - Another origin of their name comes from the fact that they apply ‘Kuri’, a sandalwood paste on their foreheads and chests. - The Kurichiyas are segmented into 4 subdivisions - Kurichian of Wayanad, Kunnam Kruichian of Kannavam forest, Anchilla Kurichian of Tirunelly and Pathira Kurichian.

- They speak and write Malayalam within the family and with others, but with a distinct accent and intonation. - Their economy is based on agriculture. They are marginal farmers and most have small plots of land where they grow pepper or other crops. - The Kurichiyas are disturbed by the increase in population and the land scarcity. - They are predominantly Hindu and worship Bhagwati, Malakkari, Athiraplan, and Munnan Daivam and Kullam deities. They have a reputation of fearlessness and trustworthiness and are considered the strongest and most developed. - They are jungle dwellers and continue to practise age-old customs. On returning from a journey, they bathe before entering their home. - Those who break dietary laws become outcasts. - The village headman is elected during a ritual that is performed before idols. A Kurichiya settlement is called Tharavadu or Muttam. - According to the 2011 Census, their population is 35,171. - Their art performance is called Nellukuthu Pattu. The Kurumas - Mainly deal with forest products. Kuruma tribe did not cultivate cash crops traditionally, but due to the influence of settlers from central Kerala, they started growing pepper and areca nut. - They are also a landowning community. The Kurumas are divided into 3 subsects on the basis of occupation - Mullu Kuruma (Collect Bamboo) - Consider themselves the highest caste amongst the Kurumas. - Then Kuruma (Collect Honey). - Uraali / Vettu Kuruma (Woodcutters, Fishermen, Artisans)

The Uraali Kurumas - Speak their own language which is a dialect of Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam.The Kurumas believe that in death, the souls of the good become God and the souls of the bad become the devil. - Their deities are Bettu Chikkamma, Bamadu, demons and ancestral spirits.They are skilled in playing the flute and the drums during festival occasions. - “Uch-alkali” is a festival of the Kurumas celebrated in the month of February. In this, some men dance, while others beat the drums and play the flute.A Kuruma settlement is called a Kudi. - Used to be Nomads and practiced shifting cultivation, but one day decided to stop. They chose a piece of land to settle in the forest. - Used to grow ragi during shifting agriculture, then shifted to paddy and now do not grow anything, even though they have land. This is because of Human - Animal conflict. - Practice Animal husbandry and do daily wage work for livelihood. The Kattunaikans / The Then Kurumas - Members of an extended family work together and the earnings are put in the same purse. - They practise clean habits, keep their house, premises and dress always clean. - They worship animals, birds, trees, rocks, hillocks and snakes They also worship ancestors and Hindu Deities. The Paniyas - They are a slave sect and were sold as bonded labourers along with the land. Their name is derived from the word ‘Paniyan’ which means 'worker’. - In the olden days, a Paniyan settlment had a headman called a Kuttan. He was appointed by the landlord. Next in line is the Mudali or the head of the family. The Mudali is the one who takes major family decisions. Together, the Mudali and the Kuttan are called Mooppanmar.

- They speak a dialect of Malayalam with a mix of Tamil and Tulu words and phrases. The Paniyas have very poor huts near farms and plantations where they are employed. - They are clever agricultural labourers, especially in terms of rice cultivation. They are low paid. Sometimes employed as mahouts and fire watchers by the forest department. - This community comprises the majority of tribes in Kerala and constitute 70% of the tribal population in Wayanad. - Their major deity is Kali. They also worship the Banyan Tree and believe that if anyone tries to cut it, they shall fall sick. - According to the 2011 Census, their population was 88,450. - A picturesque Paniyan village with huts made with thatched roofs and plastered walls is located near Tholpetty.

Top : Mr. Cheruvayil Raman, a member of the Kurichiya community, with traditional bow and arrow. Bottom : The moopad of Begur colony, Mr. Soman, a member of the Uraali Kuruma community.

IDEA OF HOME Home is a part of a person's self definition, no matter what socio-economic background they come from, what gender they are or what their age may be. Home can be simply defined as an extension of self. One’s psychology and consciousness and subjectivity about a space don’t only depend on the place where they live. It comes from inside the brain or inside the person’s soul and lived experiences. While all this helps in defining what home really means to a person, how much the home is worth and its importance, partly also have to do with the fact that one is paying for it. What does home mean to someone? Home can be defined as a place of refuge or a place of relief from stress and unsuitable and dangerous conditions. It is a space that assures the stability of one and their family. Home provides comfort and security and is what happens to a house with lived memories and experiences. It also allows building a future as home can be described as a base of faith, family, struggles and conquests and how one surpasses them.

To convert a “house” to a “home” many people do as much as they can to decorate or make changes to the interior of the house as well as the surroundings to help them get certain feelings based on similar experiences or memories that they tend to confide in and find comfort in. We can convert a “house” to a “home” by making the interior more cozy, relatable and personalized by adding some forms of artwork, furniture, images of deities. Even the kind of lighting can affect how ‘homely’ a place might feel. The environment around us also tends to play a major role in the feeling of homeliness. It is found that having more plants surrounding the house and living spaces tends to have a calming and cooling effect on the person and thus make them feel more comfortable and at ease and ‘at home’.

How to turn a “house” into a “home”? A house is the structure which is built to give shelter, a basic need for us humans. Home is the house, along with the tangible as well as intangible associated to the house, such as the environment around, the people and animals that also live in and around the house, the memories and experiences one creates and lives through in and around the house. Thus, even though people might have the same or similar houses by structure, once inside, it feels different as each home is personalised to the people or family who it belongs to. 19

The House versus Home Conversation. https://borrowsmartrepaysmart.com/2015/08/24/the-house-versus-home-conversation/

CO-DESIGN What is Co-design? It is an established approach to creative practice, particularly within the public sector. It has its roots in the participatory design techniques developed in Scandinavia in the 1970s. Co-design is often used as an umbrella term for participatory, co-creation and open design processes. Co-design reflects a fundamental change in the traditional designer-client relationship. The co-design approach enables a wide range of people to make a creative contribution in the formulation and solution of a problem. This approach goes beyond consultation by building and deepening equal collaboration between citizens affected by, or attempting to, resolve a particular challenge. A key tenet of co-design is that users, as 'experts' of their own experience, become central to the design process. The role of facilitation (usually undertaken or coordinated by designers) is an essential component of a successful co-design project. Facilitators provide ways for people to engage with each other as well as providing ways to communicate, be creative, share insights and test out new ideas. The immediate benefits of employing a co-design approach include: - Generation of better ideas with a high degree of originality and user value. - Improved knowledge of customer or user needs. - Immediate validation of ideas or concepts. - Higher quality, better differentiated products or services. - More efficient decision making.

- Lower development costs and reduced development time. - Better cooperation between different people or organisations, and across disciplines. The longer-term benefits include: - Higher degrees of satisfaction of, and loyalty from, customers and users. - Increased levels of support and enthusiasm for innovation and change. - Better relationships between the product or service provider and their customers. Principles of Co-design Inclusive – The process includes representatives from critical stakeholder groups who are involved in the co-design project throughout the process. It utilizes feedback, advice and decisions from people with lived or work experience, and the knowledge, experience and skills of experts in the field. Respectful – All participants are seen as experts and their input is valued and has equal standing. Participative – Co-design uses a series of conversations and activities where dialogue and engagement generate new, shared meanings based on expert knowledge and lived experience. Iterative – Ideas and solutions are continually tested and evaluated with the participants. Changes and adaptations are a natural part of the process and failure is allowed. Outcomes focused – The process can be used to create, redesign or evaluate services, systems or products. 20

PARTICIPATORY DESIGN What is Participatory Design? An approach to design that invites all stakeholders (e.g. customers, employees, partners, citizens, consumers) into the design process as a means of better understanding, meeting, and sometimes preempting their needs. Participatory design is considered – to be both a process and a strategy – which brings end-users and customers to design. PD is not the same thing as empathic design. As opposed to empathic design, in which researchers and developers move into the world of end-users, participatory design can be seen as relocating end-users into the world of research and development. It is important to note that, while the users are a valuable source of information and ideas in participatory design, they are not allowed to make end decisions and are never empowered with the tools that the experts use. To make meaningful decisions and analyze gathered information, rely on trained and experienced UX specialists and experts. Because of this, some academic sources (Mumford) refer to the participatory design as to a consultative design, while they reserve the participative design only for those democratic processes where users can and have a final saying.

When should you run a participatory design session? - When you want to understand better how people think about a given problem, discipline, or technology. - If you have a feeling that what the users say they do and what they actually do are not the same. - When you feel like there is, or could be, any cultural or political disconnect between you and the end-user. A technique such as this might be the best way for you to observe and learn from the user. Principles for participatory design : Build relationships – Begin with the smallest possible unit. It is often easier to get to know others in a smaller group. Leverage existing networks – Find a local partner that is already embedded within and trusted by the community. Go to where the people are – Most people are not used to attending community meetings or workshops, and some can find them intimidating. Make information accessible – Allow more people to understand it. Break down complex information with simpler words; communicate ideas visually or tangibly. Facilitate, not prescribe – Allow people to create and own solutions. Enlist neutral facilitators – Facilitators should be objective, with no stake in the outcome of the activity, and be on an equal level with the participants. Test and refine – Make the smallest possible version of a big idea. Find ways to test and improve it with the community.

Difference between Co-Design and Participatory Design Talk less, do more – Involve people in a hands-on manner by making and building with them. Do not present a perfect solution – Instead, intentionally create gaps for people to fill. A product that looks finished sends the message that the idea is final and cannot be changed. See people for what they are good at – Encourage them to bring those skills and resources to the table. Everyone is an expert in some way, so trust that they know best what they want or need. Build capability over time – Provide training to develop people’s skills and knowledge on issues around them, and create opportunities for them to step up.

Co-design leans more on teaching the skills to the recipients of the process, while Participatory Design stress more the involvement factor, but in the end they are both part of a design that is centered on the users involved in it.

Participatory Design Collaboration System Model. The Collaboration System Model presents all of the factors that can affect collaboration between a technical designer and a participant from an engaged community.

CASE STUDY 1 Converting unused urban space to public park - Santiago, Chile Project proposed the transformation of unused space into public park with new pavements, vegetation, playgrounds, seating areas and lighting. - Ministry of Housing & Urban Planning of Chile. Characteristics of project - Limited size of land, high urban impact, low education level of participants, advanced stage of design development. Use of participatory design to create project that responds better to requirements and aspirations of users.

Findings from Case Study 1 Participants who visualised the project using VR - Higher level of spatial comprehension. - More precise understanding of characteristics. - Easily identify zones - Gave specifics of colour, shape, size, number of benches and other equipment Participants who visualised using traditional means of representation - Struggle to associate 3D images with their location in 2D plans. - Lesser confidence, lot of guessing.

http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaadesigradi2019_156.pdf 24

CASE STUDY 2 Redesign Public Park - The Hague, The Netherlands Using VR in a municipal process of civic participation concerning the redesign of a public park. Process included co-design activities and involved citizens in decision making through a ballot, using 3D rendered versions of competing designs. In co-design, 3D modelling tools were instrumental in empowering citizens to negotiate design decisions, to discuss the quality of designs with experts, and collectively take decisions.

Findings from Case Study 2 - VR HMDs provided higher engagement and more vivid memories than viewing the designs on non-immersive displays. - Voters using a 2D map, less likely to recommend voting. - Number of objects recalled more in VR participants. - Immersion in 3D environment, Translocation to park, Concentration more in VR HMD participants.

https://civictechnology.nl/publ/2018_MAB.pdf 26

PRIMARY RESEARCH

FIRST FIELD VISIT The first field visit to Wayanad helped us gain a better understanding of the problem at hand, as well as to get over or at least acknowledge our biases and look for areas of interest. It was a 6 day long trip, where we reached Wayanad on the 27th of January and left on the 1st of February. Using the contacts that our faculty Ranjani had built over the course of involvement in the region, we met government officials, tribes of the Uraali Kuruma community, Kurichiya community, and people affected by disasters (landslides).

Key insights from field visit 1

People met at each location

- A brief session with Mr. Sibi Varghese, an officer in the District Collector’s office, and in charge of the LIFE mission in Wayanad gave us a lot of insight as to how a beneficiary is chosen, the different Phases in the LIFE mission, and the way tribal communities view the houses that are built for them.

Begur - Mr. Binoy (Implementation officer, VEO, Kartikulam), Vimala Chechi (Tribal Representative), Soman, Somi, Soman (Uraali Kuruma tribe), Elizabeth (Anganwadi Principal, Begur)

- Begur colony of the Thirunelly Panchayat, houses around 150 families. These families are from the Uraali Kuruma community and the Katunaikan community. Due to the kind of houses that the people live in, LIFE mission considered them beneficiaries and are constructing new houses for them. On special request of the entire colony, their houses are being built with the kitchen outside the house.

Kalpetta - Mr. Sibi Varghese (District Co-ordinator for LIFE Mission, Wayanad) Pancharakolly - Kaushalya Amma (Used to be a farmer) Mananthavady - Santhosh Abhrahams (Farmer), Cheruvayal Raman (Kurichiya Organic Farmer) , Father Jinoj (Director of WSSS), Balan Chettan (Kurichiya Tribe Leader)

Meeting Mr. Sibi Varghese in DC Office, Kalpetta. 30

SECOND FIELD VISIT This trip was a more project specific trip and aimed to help gain relevant resources and knowledge required for each of our individual projects. It was also a 6 day trip, starting from the 8th of March to the 13th of March. We planned our own schedules and using the help of translators (Mr. Hemanth and Mr. Abhiroop), we went to the relevant locations and carried out our primary research and activities with the target audience. People met at each location

Key insights from field visit 1 - The kind of environment and surrounding of the region (using this knowledge will model environment in Unity). - In depth understanding of LIFE Mission, the identification of beneficiaries, orientation session with beneficiaries, generation of agreement, and the finance allocation for every stage of construction.

Attikulli - Darappen, Kunji Raman, Leela Chechi (Kurichiya Community)

- During the orientation session, the beneficiaries (sometimes along with their families) are taught about building methods and materials in brief, after this, they are shown typical models of houses they can build under the scheme. These models are either shown as a PPT and projected, or floor plans and renders are given in print to see, thus, making beneficiaries rely on their imagination and estimation, about their future home.

Poothadi Panchayat, Kenichira - Mr. Shashi (Implementation Officer, VEO), Mrs. Rukmini (Panchayat President)

- Funds for LIFE Mission are normally deposited in woman of the house’s account. (Belief that men will misuse funds for liquor)

Meppadi, Puthumala - Mr. K. K. Sahad (Panchayat President), Mr. Sibi Varghese Mananthavady - Father Jinoj

Cherukunnu Kovayil - Sandhya, Satya, Bindu Raja (Paniya Community) Kaniyambetta Panchayat - Mr. Rahim Faisal (Implementation Officer, VEO), Ms. Shyla P.V (Implementation Officer, VEO), Shibu Chakkitattu Colony - Radha (Paniya Community)

Pamphlet with floor plans of models, given to the beneficiaries.

KEY INSIGHTS FROM VISIT 2 - Poothadi Panchayat - Most number of LIFE houses in Wayanad. Most efficient Panchayat President and Implementation Officer (VEO). - Cherukunnu Kovayil also known as 4 cent colony - Each family given 4 cents of land. Also, colony is getting the first Phase 3 flats constructed, this year, 2020. - Poothadi Panchayat believes the people should approach them for reporting damages or issues but also that the people (Paniya) are shy. - Bias against Paniya tribe - They do not keep home well and clean. - Red flower plant - kind of hibiscus - leaves used as a shampoo for hair. Flower used for decoration and surrounding house.

Top : A photo along side Mr. Shashi (Implementation Officer, VEO), Mrs. Rukmini (Panchayat President) of Poothadi Panchayat in Kenichira. Bottom : Members of a Paniya community family outside their LIFE Mission house. 33

- No hill area specific construction plan yet. - Cultural habits and aspects are respected and incorporated in design. Bathroom and kitchen outside or inside 4 walls of house, depending on community beliefs. - Each family gets their own home from LIFE. If eldest son living in a LIFE home, gets married, he and his wife get new LIFE home. Even a single mother gets her own home. - Paint is decided after construction. What colour, is upto the beneficiary. - After 8 years LIFE Mission houses are checked if any maintenance is required. - Elevation of mud is made around the Kurichiya Tharavadu is believed to prevent entry of snakes and such creatures.

Toilet as a separate structure outside house.

Left : Under construction LIFE Mission house of Mr. Kunji Raman, a member of the Kurichiya community. Top: The view of the banana plantation and the kaccha path as seen from the door of the house.

PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH I performed participatory research by involving the target communities in activities, from which I drew my observations and insights on housing and environment. Activity 1 I modelled a LIFE Mission house from the suggested Typical models of houses and placed it in the center of a sheet. The community is supposed to draw around and describe their environment from memory. Activity 2 In both the field visits, I asked the residents of every house that I visited the following questions with the help of my translators 1. What is home to you? 2. Why is home different from house? 3. What are the objects in this house or around that you hold close to your heart and value?

Activity 1 To understand what is important and a vital part of “home” outside of home, I had given a few members of the Kurichiya community from Attikulli Colony, a blank sheet of paper with a LIFE house printed in the middle, and told them to draw the environment around their homes.

Observations from Activity 1 - Coconut palms, red flowers, bushes that border house are an important environment aspect. - Fields are always behind the house / on the opposite side of the main door. - Main door leads to a small path that leads to the main road. - Well, for water is a very important aspect of community and home.

INSIGHTS FROM ACTIVITY 1 - Home is made up of the house, along with the environment that surrounds it. - When doing the activity, I was asked as to why the house has a slant roof in my diagram. The people prefer flat roofs because the tiles of a slant roof is expensive to maintain. Moreover, since there are coconut trees, around every house, the coconut might crack a tile. - People prefer to build a flat roof and once extra money is saved, they will build a slant roof shed over the flat roof with metal sheets, to provide shade on the roof. - Natural materials are always preferred, but they need not be locally sourced. Example - Mr. Kunji Raman while performing the activity mentioned that he had got laterite bricks from Kannur to build his house.

MEANING OF HOME FROM ACTIVITY 2

Mapping out what "Home" is to the people of Wayanad, in terms of the feeling of home, ideologies of home and the objects that are representative of home.

LIFE MISSION

AN OVERVIEW LIFE Mission (LIFE – Livelihood Inclusion Financial Empowerment) is the mission of the Government of Kerala, to provide employment for all homeless people in the state within five years, starting 2017 onwards, and to provide employment for the livelihood while allowing citizens to have decent role in social activities. The purpose of the mission is to provide the benefit of all social welfare schemes including financial services, and to provide safe and affordable housing for the beneficiaries. Since housing is a very basic requirement that holds key to accelerate social development, thus, LIFE Mission provides money for the building of houses, and beneficiaries make their own arrangements for the construction, using the given money. The houses are built by contractors or the beneficiaries themselves. Along with housing, LIFE helps provide guaranteed employment to its beneficiary, by tying them up with associated departments. Depending on what the beneficiary wants to practice, they are given the appropriate job ; Example, if someone wants to practice cattle rearing they are put in touch with the animal husbandry department. Who are the Beneficiaries of LIFE Mission? The LIFE Mission will benefit families with incomplete/dilapidated houses, families having semi-legal/semi-permanent houses in government land or in coastal regions families and families who are landless and houseless. 41

The priority would be given to the families under the following categories: - Destitute people - Differently-abled - Transgender - Mentally challenged/paralyzed/blind - Transgender - Individuals suffering from fatal diseases - Individuals who are unable to engage in livelihood activities due to accident or prolonged diseases. - Unmarried mothers - Widows

Beneficiaries are selected if the above criteria are met by them. 42

PHASES OF LIFE MISSION To achieve its purpose and end goal, LIFE Mission is divided into different phases, each providing different end solutions for its beneficiaries. The following are the phases of LIFE Mission Phase 1 - In the first phase, the LIFE Mission focused on completing houses which had been abandoned halfway for want of money. Apart from government funds, contributions from the public have also gone into the construction of houses. - 8,800 incomplete houses were adressed irrespective of what scheme they were initially under. - Out of these, 3,800 beneficiaries are from Wayanad, which includes 600 beneficiaries from the Scheduled Tribe communities. - LIFE Mission spent Rs. 670 crore in the first phase. Phase 2 - In this phase, LIFE Mission aims to provide for those beneficiaries who have land but are homeless. Even those living in temporary shelters qualify for this phase. - The beneficiaries, once selected and documents are verified, get to either choose their ideal model of house from 12 typical models provided by LIFE Mission or can come up with their own model and should satisfy the maximum 420 square feet requirement. - Once a model is finalised, the beneficiaries go through a training program which includes ways and best practices for construction of their home to-be. 43

- After this, all the official documents are collected and compiled to make the agreement. - Funds for the construction of the house are then allocated. The beneficiaries belonging to the general category get a total of 4 Lakhs, while the Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries are allocated 6 Lakhs. - The money is deposited in installments after various stages of construction. Some panchayats believe in depositing the money in the woman of the house's name as they believe that men might spend the money on liquor. - The construction is then done either by the beneficiaries themselves or by hiring a contractor. The belief is that by hiring a contractor, the quality of the house would be better and more reliable. - Officials of the corresponding Panchayat make visits at various times to check on how the construction is going. The beneficiaries are supposed to send pictures of the house after completing different stages of the construction in order to avail the next installment of money to continue construction. - The bathroom and kitchen are normally the first parts of the house to be constructed so that they can be used while the beneficiaries stay in their temporary shelter during the construction phase. - Employment is also guaranteed to the beneficiaries under the MGNREGA Act of 2005. - Colour of paint for the house after construction is a personal choice. - Once possession of the house is complete the beneficiary is not allowed to sell the land or the house for 10 years. - LIFE Mission guarantees basic maintenance check of the house after 8 years of possesion. - Rs. 5,851 has been spent on this phase as of February 2020.

Phase 3 - The next phase of LIFE Mission caters to those who do not have land nor a home. - Approach for Phase 3 is cluster settlements (flats) for General Category beneficiaries. - The flats would be fully equipped with solar panels for energy, a common anganwadi etc. - Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries do not opt for flats and thus will be given independent land (3 cents of land) and house to be build. Phase 4 - This phase, though not yet finalised, would tentatively be about improvement of already existing houses and making them habitable. - Thus, not rebuilding but improving.

Above : Anganwaadi built as a part of the LIFE Colony. Right : Kurichiya community member talking about his new LIFE house that is under construction currently. (Image credits : Charvi Upadhye)

ts in n e um Doc Phase 2 LIFE ement Agre

Beneficiaries are required to take a picture at every stage of construction, in order to claim their funds for construction. Seen here are various beneficiaries with their houses at varied stages. Images from LIFE Mission website.

GAPS IN LIFE MISSION - “..successful people’s movement…” CPI(M) Kerala Secretary Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. But is it a “people’s movement” if the people are not participating in every step of the process? - 12 suggestive models for housing, following “One size fits all” approach.

https://www.livemint.com/Politics/4oCm9fvJxh7qQifauFjdcN/How-Kerala-plans-to-give-free-houses-to-homeless-people.html https://lifemission.kerala.gov.in/files/Presentation%20on%2023-02-2018%20FOR%20TYPICAL%20DESIGN_0.pdf 52

NEED FOR AN INTERVENTION If the beneficiary has a more active role in choosing their home, it will create a sense of belonging and thus, sense of ownership. This will thus, empower beneficiaries. To allow customisation and personalisation of living space. Help user participate actively in construction of own home, as well as create an ideal environment around their home. Trust will be built with the LIFE Mission, as there will be transparency in the system when the beneficiary and the other stakeholders work together.

IDEATIONS AND ITERATIONS

MODELLING THE HOUSES After the proposal was refined and submitted, I took the suggestions from the jury and started my ideation phase. I used modelling in virtual environments as my medium to ideate and iterate. For this, I had to learn how to model the houses. I learnt Sketchup and started modelling a LIFE Mission house based off the drawings and plans from the set of typical designs that are shown to the beneficiaries. First the floor plan was studied and the dimensions were noted and walls built accordingly. Once the walls were done, the windows and then the roof was made. Colour and texture was added only after the model was complete. Interior of the house was made with the help of pre existing models that were then modified to resemble the cupboard, kitchen and washroom of a typical LIFE Mission house. This process was done for a few models and both slant and straight roof versions were made.

Above : 3D modelled house based on plan, compared to LIFE Mission's render (top left) Below : Final render of one LIFE house made on Sketchup, compared to the render provided by LIFE Mission (bottom left)

UNITY WORKSPACE

IDEA 1 Choosing a house in a 2D platform, then change the locations and positions or orientations of the rooms in VR. - A set of 12 Typical Designs to choose from, in a 2D representation, on screen, in VR. - Once a model is chosen, the top view of the model is shown, as 3D floor plan view, and the beneficiary can swap/move/change position/orientations of the rooms in VR, like LEGO blocks in a container (the fixed 4 walls of the house) - After the house has been customised, the beneficiary can take a walkthrough of the house they modified.

IDEA 2 Choosing a house in a 3D platform in VR, then change the colour of the walls/ interiors of the rooms in VR. - Beneficiary can browse through the 12 models of home and select their desired one, in VR. - Once a model is chosen, it opens up on a plane, where the user can use look-walk to walk around the house and into the house. Since its in VR, the image on the right depicts how head tilt motion is supported as well. - As the user walks around, they will see different trigger points (as in image on the left) which they can look at, select a color from the color wheel and paint that surface, where the trigger lies on. - After the house has been customised, the beneficiary can take a walkthrough of the house they coloured and painted.

IDEA 3 Making a 3D virtual environment with aspects and elements of Wayanad, placing the models of home in the environment, so beneficiary can choose. - Beneficiary views an environment that has a look and feel similar to Wayanad, to give a fully immersive effect in VR. - They then see models of the houses and can toggle through them and see how each model would look in perspective to the surrounding environment. - Once model is selected, they can customise the roof, the colours of walls and interiors and finally use look-walk for a walkthrough in the customised and personalised house, and walk around in the environment as well.

After the field visits, I realised that although the usage of VR or AR technologies could be useful for participatory design of housing, currently in the given context, it might not work and thus I chose to create a desktop application for the same.

PHOTO vs VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

IDEA 3 ITERATION 1 Slant roof house, banana plantation at random, paddy fields behind house, coconut palms on one side. (PC App)

IDEA 3 ITERATION 2 Flat roof house, banana plantation at random, paddy fields behind house, sparse vegetation, well for water, interior of house (kitchen and toilet). (PC)

IDEA 3 ITERATION 3 2 models of house toggle-able, banana plantation and paddy fields behind house, dense vegetation, bushes and red flowers surrounding house. (PC App)

Multiple LIFE Mission house models, from the Typical Designs shall be available in this application and all will have a roof toggle option, between straight and slant. The house orientation can also be changed, according to the beneficiaries beliefs and choice. Finally, the beneficiary can take a walkthrough inside the house, with the help of the application and can customise the interiors as well as the environment to an extent, to personalise the house to a "home", with the help of a trained professional using this application.

DEA

FINAL I

FINAL OUTCOME

SETTING GOALS

The goals of the beneficiary as well as my goals for the project were mapped out in order to pick out the motivations, help focus attention and evaluate change as the project develops. 73

FINALISED IDEA NARRATIVE Following the steps explained under the selection of the beneficiaries, they finally attend a briefing session in the Village Extension office at their local Panchayat where they are allowed to select their models of their future homes. The following details out that process.

FINAL WORKING PROTOTYPE The Bridge is an application built for a computer that allows the beneficiaries of LIFE Mission to actively take part in the conceptualisation, and construction of their own future "homes". The application follows a participatory design approach, and thus, has the ability to make multiple changes through its usage. It allows for varied degrees of personalisation, that is, at the environment level, the structural level as well as the interior level. The environment around the house is an average depiction of the actual colony where the house will be constructed in the future. This environment will be modeled while the selection process and agreement generation stage happens. The environment will be made completely editable so that, when the beneficiary comes to the Village Extension Office to attend the briefing session, they can add or remove objects such as trees, flowers, bushes, etc., from the environment according to their vision of a future "home". This will also help give insight to the government officials as to what in the surroundings are important factors to the people. The structure of the house can be edited by firstly choosing a model from a set of available Typical Designs created by the LIFE Mission. 75

Once the model is selected, the beneficiary can then toggle between a sloped roof and a flat roof for their ideal version of "home". At the interior level, the model can be experienced in its actual scale using the first person view walkthrough capability it has. The colour of the walls can be changed according to the choice of the beneficiary. Important and common objects can also be added, such as religious images, idols, calender, clock, utensils, etc. to the house to give a more realistic feeling to the house. Larger implication of tool This participatory tool for housing can be used with different user groups of various language and cultural backgrounds. When talking about three dimensional spaces, the best way, a human can gauge and understand the space and context to the maximum capacity is by actually interacting with the space in a real or virtual set up. This tool allows one to do so. It can also further be used to understand human behaviour and psychology by drawing insights from the patterns people make in terms of what they find more valuable, how they associate themselves to a space and the relationship between space and home.

A screenshot from the application depicting some of the capabilities of the application.

MAPPING THE APPLICATION'S USES

USER FLOW OF A BENEFICIARY Following is the User Flow of a beneficiary of LIFE Mission when they use The Bridge application. The application is operated by a trained government official who is present at the time. The beneficiary and their family are given control of the application when the customisation phase begins, but, the trained official is present to help and assist in any way.

WIREFRAMES OF "THE BRIDGE" PC APP

The beneficiary logs into the system with their LIFE Mission portal credentials.

Left : Visualised in these screenshots are how the user can select between different models of the houses (by clicking through the arrows) and once a model is selected, how they can toggle the roof to be a slant roof or a flat roofed building, depending on their choice. By clicking and dragging the top white circular pathed arrow, the user can also change the orientation of the house in terms of what they find more practical or according to any religious or spiritual beliefs they might have. Once the arrow is not clicked, the house stays roatated in that angle. Right : These screens depict the actions possible when adding or removing objects from the environment. Here the user adds and then removes a Tulsi Plant (considered auspicious) outside their home. The other two icons help the user browse through religious images, idols etc. that can be placed in and around the house or hung on walls or shelves, and the centre button with a cooking vessel allows the user to browse and add essential objects like utensils, calendar etc., in their "home."

Depicted here is how the user can change the colour of the walls in the interiour of the model. By clicking on the paintbrush icon on the walls, a colour wheel opens up with options to choose from. The user can then click their colour preference and see the colour of the walls change in real time. After changing colour of the surfaces, they can continue to walk around and experience the model of the house and see the effect the colours on the walls have in terms of the light entering into the house.

The final customised and personalised model of home made and ready to save to the portal.

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT This project was one that I was definitely very keen on taking up and exploring the possibilities of. When I heard that there were going to be travel related projects to be offered in the 8th semester, I was excited. But what drew me to this project specifically was how we would have the possibility of working on real life issues and in a location that has very real problems that need action. I also wanted to use this project as an opportunity and an outlet to create something that was in some way tangible. I wanted to engage with materials and make a physical outcome. Although that is not what ended up happening with my final outcome, I am glad things worked out the way they did. Given the lack of experience I had in the physical product making domain and the constraints that abruptly came up due to COVID -19, I am glad I chose the direction I took for my final outcome. This project has taught me a lot, in terms of experiences, improving my skill set as well as changing my outlook in life on various things. In the first field visit, although I did treat it as a leisure trip where I just observed, the observations I gathered, the stories I heard as well as being in the very presence of the space really opened my eyes to the sensitivity of the issues. I remember in the early years of college, I saw the floods and landslides being reported in Wayanad, on the news. I remember how I did have a fleeting moment of sadness, but eventually pushed it to the back of my mind. Hearing the problems people faced in that time, from the mouths of the people who braved 85

through the storm (quite literally) made me aware of my privileges and has gotten me thinking of ways I can use my skill sets as a designer to help tackle such issues in the future as well. The second field visit taught me a lot of how the government of Kerala works. I have always come across jokes, or memes about communism and being communist and the way the capitalist world portrays communism is not always in the best light. But, when I learnt the bottom-up approach of the communist government of Kerala and how they view and tackle calamities and disease, it made me develop a new found intrigue and respect for the government's functioning. The laws and schemes, especially the LIFE Mission Scheme, which was my area of interest, was really insightful and I realized how important, power in an administrative or government post is no matter how small the level of one might be. During my project, I came across many challenges – skill related, system related, but I always did what I could to find the next best way to go ahead. It was quite unfortunate that COVID-19 played out, as I wasn’t able to really test my outcome, as I was quite interested in knowing what the target audience would think of it. I really enjoyed digging deeper on the processes and principles of Participatory Design and I am glad this project made me look into it deeper. It is a method I will definetly use and take forward, in my professional life.

Moving Home Thesis Project group ft. Ballan Chettan, a Kurichiya Moopad

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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THESIS PROJECT 2020

Examiner 1 (name and signature):

THE BRIDGE

Examiner 2 (name and signature):

A participatory designing tool for housing STUDENT: CALVIN JUDE STANLEY PROJECT:

Moving Home

SPONSOR: Self initiated PROGRAM: Undergraduate Professional Programme AWARD:

Human Centered Design

Final Examination Panel Comments:

Examiner 3 (name and signature): Date: Academic Dean: