A House of Dreams: Dipikaben’s Tryst with Climate-Resilient Housing

The document details a project by the Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) and Selco Foundation to upgrade the home of Dipika ben Malik, a seamstress in the Bhagwatinagar slum of Ahmedabad. The original structure, featuring an asbestos roof and low plinth, caused productivity losses and increased electricity costs during heatwaves and flooding. The intervention replaced the roof with PUF panels, raised the plinth level, and solarized appliances, creating a climate-resilient environment that protects the resident's income and living conditions.

• Ahmedabad is highly susceptible to climate variability, having been ranked as the second most climate vulnerable city in a 2021 study by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. The city has faced devastating heatwaves, such as one in 2010 that killed 1,344 people, and projections indicate maximum temperatures will increase by 1.2 °C to 2.4 °C in the future, while seasonal rainfalls may increase by 8 to 17 percent.
• Inadequate housing in the Bhagwatinagar slum directly undermined the livelihood of a home-based seamstress. Asbestos roofing trapped heat, causing the resident to avoid work in afternoons and doubling her electricity bills from 1,000 to 2,000 rupees per month. Additionally, a plinth level lower than the ground led to flooding during monsoons, resulting in the loss of food and customer clothing, and a reported loss of nearly 6,000 Rupees in a single event.
• The Mahila Housing Trust and Selco Foundation implemented specific climate-resilient upgrades to the home, including replacing asbestos sheets with polyurethane (PUF) panel roofing to insulate against heat and prevent leaks, raising the plinth level to stop flooding, and solarizing all appliances to reduce electricity costs.

APA

Global Resilience Partnership (2023). A House of Dreams: Dipikaben’s Tryst with Climate-Resilient Housing. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/a-house-of-dreams-dipikabens-tryst-with-climate-resilient-housing/

Chicago

Global Resilience Partnership. A House of Dreams: Dipikaben’s Tryst with Climate-Resilient Housing. 2023. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/a-house-of-dreams-dipikabens-tryst-with-climate-resilient-housing/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Resilience Partnership |title=A House of Dreams: Dipikaben’s Tryst with Climate-Resilient Housing |date=6 June 2023 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/a-house-of-dreams-dipikabens-tryst-with-climate-resilient-housing/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalresiliencepartnership2023house, author = {{Global Resilience Partnership}}, title = {{A House of Dreams: Dipikaben’s Tryst with Climate-Resilient Housing}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/a-house-of-dreams-dipikabens-tryst-with-climate-resilient-housing/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }