ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement (Dec 2017)
Community Participation in Building Climate Change Resilient Rural Housing: Examining the Socio-Economic Viability of Case In the Jamuna River Basin of Bangladesh
Abstract
Community participation in building climate change resilient rural housing: a case of the Jamuna river basin of BangladeshAbstractThe climate resilient cluster village was established by an NGO named “ActionAid Bangladesh”. The study was undertaken to ensure safe community living for the inhabitants of a vulnerable ecological zone of Bangladesh.. The experience was that local people had their houses destroyed by flood almost every year with far-reaching threat to livelihood and solemnity of women. It was therefore felt essential to facilitate the community in building multi-hazard resilient houses so as to make themselves self-protective from climatic hazards like windy storm, theft etc besides flooding. Moreover, as the poor had usually no savings or insurance, there was additional need to make provision for livelihood sustenance. There was need therefore to provide for some flood free land e.g., kitchen garden to grow vegetables and fruits for both self consumption and selling in the market, pond for fish culture etc. The program started with a threadbare discussion with the vulnerable communities in a participatory manner where the program staffs had discussed with the community groups, especially the poor, to generate the basic analysis of vulnerabilities, the community is facing and its link to climate change. The community itself did the analysis and analyzed the vulnerability faced by them. The final result was building of climate resilient cluster village housing for 10 families whose dwellings were devastated almost annually by flood. A social and economic feasibility analysis was carried out to determine scaling up of these types of adaptations to similar ecological zones of the country and elsewhere.
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