How can the searing heat and lack of shade trees in a small Indian farming village be mediated? Bursary-winner Bamford’s beautifully practical parasol structure, made from local materials and erected by villagers, has started an eco-projects programme.

In the village of Shimakeldi, set on the arid Thuwavi plain of Maharashtra in India, temperatures reach 45°C in the dry season, and there is the risk of flooding during the monsoons. A decade ago, the scene was very different for the villagers: before being moved 100km north to the plain, the original Shimakeldi lay in a fertile valley in Gujarat ? a valley that was flooded after the construction of the massive Sardar Sarover dam. Since then, life for the villagers has been a severe test of stamina; fertility has been replaced by subsistence. Their housing is poor, for a start. When the village was transplanted, new buildings were put up hurriedly in a grid format – mostly using brick and tin – which considerably amplifies internal heat. The central square, ostensibly the heart of the village, is barren and dusty. Local well water has a high salt content, which means that drinking water must be delivered by tanker every day. Crops can be grown, but the position of Shimakeldi means that the surrounding fields are not only too dry to produce good yields of cotton without the use of chemical fertilisers, but the crops are at risk of being washed away when nearby rivers flood.

Craig Bamford first visited the Thuwavi plain in 2004 as part of an architecture field trip to the Narmada valley organised by the University of East London to investigate displaced villages, and find ways to improve living conditions. ‘Inspired by ideas of working in one such village,’ he explained, ‘I returned to India with four friends, and this journey eventually led to the Thuwavi colony. We embarked on a collaborative process at Shimakeldi, and I’ve since returned twice to continue the process – once in the dry season, once during the monsoon.’ The ferocity of the heat in the dry season prompted Bamford’s first small intervention. He noted that when Shimakeldi originally lay near the Narmada river, its ambience was mediated by the mature trees that surrounded its central square. In these conditions, communal activities could take place relatively well protected from the sun. And so, Bamford worked with villagers to construct a shade structure in the square – ‘a catalyst towards further projects that could address the housing, land and water issues.’ The design of the shade structure is based on traditional local shading, and incorporates a suitably protected new sapling. More will be built.

Other projects are also under way, to demonstrate better drainage and farming methods. Perhaps the most crucial of these relates to water and energy conservation: one house now has a rainwater-harvesting tank, and Bamford is investigating the possibility of deploying biogas and solar energy systems. A large pond-sump to reduce the effects of flooding, and store water for the dry season, is another possibility. ‘The process has been a steep learning-curve,’ he admitted, ‘and not least in dealing with the political issues that surround the village. But it’s also been rewarding. I’ve seen, first-hand, that small projects can play a role in improving the quality of life.’