Habitat of Indian Subcontinent

Economic powerhouse on the world stage, the challenge is to ensure that prosperity is properly shared.

More than 60 percent of the country’s estimated 180 million dwellings are temporary or in a dilapidated condition. Poor quality bricks and cement are common. In rural areas, shelters often rely on mud, grass, leaves, reeds and bamboo. In urban areas, the poor live under bridges, on train and bus platforms, as well as in crowded slums.

India needs some 2.5 million new homes each year, just to keep pace with its growing population. The current shortfall is more than 41 million homes.

Habitat for Humanity India began operation since 1983 in Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, and is one of Habitat’s largest country programs. There are Habitat resource centers in Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai (with others planned for Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad) and satellite centers (former affiliates) in the south, east and west. New partnerships with corporate supporters and nongovernmental organizations extend Habitat’s presence to north India.

Habitat has had an active disaster response program following the December 2004 tsunami, building on earlier disaster relief initiatives in Gujarat, where Habitat built homes following an earthquake in 2001 and rebuilt communities in Cuttack, Orrissa, in the aftermath of a major cyclone. Habitat’s tsunami response involves assisting as many as 30,000 families directly and indirectly through a network of disaster response centers and in partnership with other organizations.

Habitat house designs and materials vary with climate and locale. Typically, house designs range in size from 240 to 360 sq. ft. and comprise a living room, veranda, kitchen and toilet.

HFH India uses a Save & Build housing microfinance concept in order to reach more communities in need. Under Save & Build, homeowner families (usually working in groups) save one-third of the cost of the house, with a non-governmental organization or corporate partner contributing one-third and Habitat investing the remaining one third. Future efforts will focus on self-help groups where Habitat will inject funds proportionate to the group savings to build houses for group members.

There is an active volunteer program involving locally-based students and churches. HFH India also hosts up to 20 international teams of volunteer builders a year from the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia. Tsunami reconstruction using innovative construction delivery methodology has led to new volunteering opportunities. |

Habitat’s current work comes under the umbrella of indiaBUILDS, a five-year strategic initiative to create decent homes for the poor in India. Launched in October 2005, indiaBUILDS aims to provide decent homes for 250,000 poor individuals by 2010.

HABITAT HIGHLIGHTS

As of January 2006, Habitat’s tsunami program had completed nearly 1,700 repairs and new builds.
indiaBUILDS was officially launched on 2nd October 2005 at JW Marriott hotel in Mumbai in front of a 300-strong audience which included India’s science and technology minister and prominent personalities from Indian-based business corporations.
A US$200,000 project by Habitat and partners Rotary Club of Bombay and Jankalyan Trust was unveiled in April 2006 to build 80 new houses for flood victims in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Students from the American School of Bombay, American Embassy school, New Delhi, and Kodaikanal International school participate in builds each year.
Indian TV personality Pooja Bedi is leading “BUILD with Pooja Bedi” in Kondivite village in Maharashtra, a special program under Habitat’s US$1.5 million flood response initiative
A project was inaugurated in March 2006 to build 100 houses for 500 flood victims in Kalyan district, Maharashtra
Habitat and partner Discipleship Centre launched a pilot project in July 2005 to repair and renovate 120 houses in a slum relocation colony in the Indian capital Delhi.
Habitat embarked on pilot schemes in four northern Indian states with new and existing partners in September 2005. The pilot schemes all involve a Save & Build-style micro-financing to finance home repairs and construction.
Habitat provided 541 homes for victims of an earthquake in 2001 in Gujarat.

COUNTRY FACTS

Population: 1,065,070,607
Capital: New Delhi
Area: 3,287,590 sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and others 3%
Languages: Hindi, English, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu Kannada, Assamese, Sindhi, and 1,652 dialects.
Religions: Hindu 81.3%; Islam 12%; Christian 2.3%; Sikh 1.9%; Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and others 2.5%