Sustainability Spotlight, Dec 2021 - Zero Carbon Shelters for Impoverished Communities
In response to climate change impact and the increasing frequency of natural disasters since 2005 in Pakistan, architect Yasmeen Lari has designed sustainable, affordable, climate-resilient structures drawn from vernacular traditions and local wisdom. She has also devised mechanisms for low-cost, affordable and DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) methodologies for vulnerable and marginalised communities with a special focus on women.
Yasmeen’s work is supported by the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan’s partnership with Dr Azra Meadows and Mr Peter Meadows of the University of Glasgow's Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health & Comparative Medicine on projects building emergency homes (bamboo, stone, lime-mud) and disaster management and rehabilitation programmes funded by the Scottish Government International Development Fund. This includes a Disaster Preparedness Manual in English and in Urdu, accompanied by a video of street theatre on disaster preparedness.
This work has been tested in the field over the past 15 years by building in post-disaster areas across Pakistan – from the plains of Sindh to the mountainous regions of the North. The Zero Carbon Women Centre (pictured) has been built in areas which are often flooded. By employing specially developed construction techniques, the strength and resilience of this structure, which is built with low-cost sustainable materials (earth, lime, and bamboo) has surpassed conventional concrete and steel.
Women Centre's bamboo structure is designed on stilts so that communities can find safety when the surrounding area is flooded. During other periods the first floor is used by community women, for whom there is a real lack of interaction spaces in rural Pakistan, while the ground floor with the shaded area can provide recreational facilities for children during hot weather.
Through use of these materials and the emphasis on self-building and co-building, this work contributes to twelve UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Yasmeen’s Zero Carbon Channel on YouTube is making tutorials and training workshops available in Pakistan and internationally. Many NGOs and village communities have begun to adopt the zero carbon methodologies to self-build affordable units. The aim is to reach out to impoverished communities through technology and provide social and ecological justice for everyone, particularly women.