ROOH 

A story of change: Anita Lok-suman Sathe

This story chronicles not only the shift from what Anita Sathe’s dwelling was like before and after her partnership with ROOH, but the history of her dwelling of which the most recent upgrades have been a part. We also cover some interesting additions from our most recent visit which provide a glimpse into how finances are redirected when a certain level of dwelling consolidation is achieved.

1972-1900s: The progression from  a shack to a house: Anita’s life thus far

Anita’s dwelling was Built in 1972, One of the first among a few others to be constructed when the settlement of Landewaadi first emerged. As a young girl, till she was around 10 years of age, she and her family lived in a shack built using rag cloth, pieces of scrap plastic, wood, other salvageable materials and tarpaulin sheets. In the early 1980s, given how to damage their shack was, the family made their first set of increments. As the industries in the area started mushrooming, the family was able to find tin sheets and wooden poles of varying sizes which they used to build their walls and roofs. They were also able to procure water saturated with cement from nearby construction yards, which they mixed with mud and applied on the ground;  an attempt to make the floor more robust.  Whilst this had little impact on the ability of the dwelling to withstand climatic extremes, daily concerns of damage and security were alleviated to a certain degree.

Repeated expenditures to keep the dwelling standing had begun piling up, and the family decided to consolidate the dwelling, at least to the extent that it was livable and not subject to repairs each year. This was concurrent with a changing set of construction trends in the area, when people started using pieces of asphalt from roads which were being newly built, along with stones and cement mortar to build their walls. For Anita’s dwelling, this was no different. This was a substantial first step in constructing what they could call a semi-permanent dwelling. The porous and shifting partition of their dwelling was built using bricks, which helped delineate two separate rooms. For an added sense of security, the walls now made it possible for them to install doors with latches and bolts. The two rooms contributed not only to a sense of privacy which was ascendant given the increase in their family size but also laid the foundation for a clear separation of functions which is evident now.

The 2000s: The first foray into making a pucca house

Several factors such as the marriage of family members and childbirth contributed to an increase in family size. Considerations of privacy emerged again as the individual families sought to have their own spaces to live and use. This coincided with the retirement of Anita’s father, whose retirement gift was a set of building materials! In the year 2000, Using these materials that the family was donated, in addition to a few they procured from a nearby vendor, they set out to rebuild their dwelling using stronger materials such as bricks and cement, and for the first time, gave thought to the addition of tiles to the floors. This also gave them the chance to do something they had desired for some time now, that being the addition of two more rooms over the existing structure. This was further impetus to build load bearing walls. With all of these considerations in mind, they made a crucial switch in their journey of gradually incrementing their dwelling; they enlisted a contractor to procure the materials and bring in construction laborers. Thus far, the family had built their dwelling by themselves, with assistance from their neighbors. For the rather substantial investment that this was, they thought it best for them to have their dwelling built through others who were already trained in the craft.

The dwelling, at this stage, took the shape that we see now. An assembly of four rooms, each with their own entrance across two floors. A metal staircase obtained from a scrapyard and pieces of plywood were used to build the landing for the upper floor. The metal sheets they had been using for the roofs were retained, though there were a few instances of patchwork repair. In 2014, the family had accumulated the finances to build a small frontage; a slightly raised cement platform with a depression on one end where they had a water tap installed; The Mori; a Marathi word for a general washing space, where families wash clothes and utensils. In these cases, where individual taps are shared between multiple families, these also become the sites for the procurement of water for everyday use. in 2022, this space became the catalyst for the family to add another important addition for which they had bee saving money, an individual washroom. Along the southern wall of the house, they built a partially enclosed structure and had a urinal installed though this served little purpose as it could not be connected to a sewer line. This remained an unfinished structure which they have continued using as a makeshift bathing space. Initially, they were using a curtain to enclose the structure, which was then replaced with a door purchased from a scrap vendor. During our discussions in 2024, they were planning to remove the urinal entirely and convert it to a dedicated bathroom, which they have managed to do in the months since the most recent set of upgrades were undertaken in partnership with ROOH.

2023: Where the partnership began: Concerns and needs

Among the many families, from settlements across Pimpri who were concerned about the impending rains, Anita’s family had a set of concerns regarding dwelling materials that provided an excellent opportunity for them to collaborate with the campaign to explore possible ways of incrementation to alleviate climatic stresses. For years, since the dwelling had been built, the family had been contending with high indoor temperatures, leaking roofs during the monsoon, and a worsening state of their flooring which was responsible for allowing the entry of insects and rodents. One of the rooms was practically unusable, and they had grown accustomed to comments from their guests and neighbors about its poor state.  With much insight, the family also associated these issues with the increasing instances of ill-health among their members. With this, we began a series of discussions to explore possibilities. They were certain that they wanted their floors repaired and were keen on materials that would make them usable for day-to-day use and keep temperatures down. In addition, they wanted to explore paint-based solutions to keep their roofing sheets cool instead of outrightly having them replaced. They felt that these upgrades would make the upper rooms more usable thereby allowing certain functions to be limited to the floors below. They also hoped that a set of such small upgrades, in line with the incrementality that they had been practicing thus far would change perceptions that they and others held about their dwelling; in some regards, it was a small glimpse into the social implications of poor dwelling conditions and the pathways families use to improve their social standing within a community. A later addition to their upgrades, repainting their front façade in a bright yellow color, further evidences this.

A series of discussions were held with the family where we discussed finances, the materials that would be best suited for their needs,  and how the materials would be procured. These discussions were insightful as they scratched the surface of market dynamics and predatory practices in construction, where contractors often charge exorbitant amounts to build or repair dwellings using substandard materials. Dismantling this was a task that the family took up with us. As a partnership between ROOH and them, they had saved some money towards these upgrades, with the campaign contributing materials. With this, within a week of discussions and decision-making on construction, the work began.