Friends of Shelter Associates

More on YouTube…

Susan Taylor — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:37:37 +0000

Below is a link to another film I put together for Shelter Associates. While the first film shows the Sangli community’s consent for SA’s designs, this film highlights the community’s dissatisfaction with the government’s housing (specifically, the Vambay project). The first clip is not subtitled, but keep watching – the rest is!

Sangli’s Response to Vambay

Tomorrow, I am heading back to Sangli to help organize art workshops for women and children. Stay tuned for pictures and commentary…

Shelter Associates on YouTube

Susan Taylor — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:42:50 +0000

A couple months ago, I put together a short film highlighting the opinions of the Sangli slum dwellers regarding SA’s housing designs. This film has been shown at the immediate local level (between the slums to bridge communities and share their experiences) and at a broader level, to local government bodies in Sangli and to state government officials of Maharashtra. Click the link below to see this video on YouTube:

Sangli Speaks About Shelter Associates

SA Pune Office

Susan Taylor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:45:29 +0000

Here is a group photo of the Shelter office. In the back row (from left) are Shashi, Pramila, Sandhya, Zahida, Shoba, Pradeep, Leena, and Deepak. Seated are Lata Shrikhande, (Associate Director of SA) and Pratima Joshi (Executive Director of SA). I am seated on the floor, next to Jenny, Caroline, and Maxine, three other volunteers. Caroline is an architect from France who has been here for one month, and Jenny and Maxine both joined SA through EWB (Engineers Without Borders) in England. They have been here since July, and are both finishing up their time with SA.

Davis Grant

Susan Taylor — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:56:55 +0000

The grant that I received to work with Shelter Associates this summer has just completed. While I plan to stay on with SA through the remainder of the year, I have written a report documenting the work I’ve done for the past three months. To read more, visit the Davis Projects for Peace website:
Davis Foundation

My project can be found at the following link:
Susan Taylor’s Project

Housing in Pune

Susan Taylor — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:45:57 +0000

Shelter Associates undertook the Dattawadi Housing Project following the May 1996 destruction of the Rajendranagar community’s homes in Pune. The project took one year, and represented Shelter’s vision in directly involving the poor in any matter concerning them. Rajendranagar women were trained in laadi, beam, and block making; they were also able to design their own life-size model house made from cloth to present to the Municipal Commissioner in expressing their wishes for the design. Throughout the year, the community contributed input and aid for the project.

On Wednesday, I visited the resettlement project on the Dattawadi site with Shelter social workers and a group of local officials from the state of Orissa. While it has been over a decade since the completion of the site, the building (and individual homes in particular) have been well-maintained and nicely personalized. The pictures below show a view of the second floor, the community toilet block on the first floor (the toilets are kept locked, and residents have keys for their use), and finally young children playing in the open corridor.