Helping the poor cope with the heat wave

By Manjunath Hadimani | NT

Bengaluru: The scorching summer has taken a heavy toll on the economically poorer sections of society who live in crowded urban settlements. The Climate Crisis is a major reason for the increasing temperature and these people are the most vulnerable due to their living conditions. They find it difficult to sleep inside the corrugated asbestos/steel/tin/cement roofed houses with the temperature rising by the day.

The scenario may change in a few localities in Bengaluru if the collaborative initiative by cBalance - a knowledge-centric solutions hub and research-based organization and Hasiru Dala (Green Force), a social impact organization in Karnataka becomes successful. Hasiru Dala works to ensure a dignified life for waste pickers. Under their Hasiru Mane project, they provide housing solutions for waste pickers and waste workers.

cBalance under their Informal Housing Thermal Comfort Project works to reduce heat stress in metal-roofed houses. They are researching, testing, and validating different retrofit roofing solutions in urban settlements to reduce the impact of heat.  The project is happening in two cities namely Bangalore & Pune. cBalance is working with Hasirudala as their CSO partner in Bangalore who pioneers in community engagement. The project’s first phase was launched in November 2021 in four houses and a community library in Jyothipura near KR Puram. Five more houses were added in the same locality in the second phase in April 2022.

Akbar Allah Bakash, Project Manager with Hasiru Mane, said the project aims to provide cost-effective heat management for the underprivileged.

“This experiment is based on long-term thinking. The temperature is rising every year. An increase in the usage of Air Conditioners will also lead to an increase in outdoor temperature and it is not environmentally and economically sustainable; this experiment could be a game-changer,” said Akbar.

Anusha Mohan, Project Manager, cBalance Bengaluru explained that the project is using six different types of roofing solutions, such as Alufoil (Aluminium foil), Ecoboard (made of recycled tetra pack), Wood Wool panel (made of processed wooden fibers), Water-filled PET-bottle, Rooftop Gardening, and Dormer Window (fiberglass moulded into a hump and retrofitted into the existing roof).

“Before we finalized the solutions, we did material research on solutions and analyzed them through various lenses. We conducted listening workshops for residents in the community where we listened to their problems across various seasons. Thermal stress and discomfort surfaced as major issues from the workshops. After the design and mechanism were finalized, we created a working model based on the design. We presented the models in a Participatory design workshop where the residents could provide their thoughts and suggestions on the models. Inputs from these workshops were also imbibed into the final design. We are using thermal comfort sensors to record the temperature and humidity. Our core approach has been one of co-working and co-creation instead of a top-down solution imposing approach,” said Anusha.

Selvi, a beneficiary, said her family could feel the change now. “We were finding it very hard to manage the heat earlier even with a fan, but now we are feeling better.”

“The indoor temperature has reduced a little bit compared to earlier. Household work is happening smoothly. Usage of fans has been reduced,” said Vijayalakshmi, a beneficiary.