Nil Devi is the chairperson of the Women’s Committee of Chohel Nani, a committee chosen by the community to be in charge of the development and construction of the public resthouse, and the reconstruction of the chowk. 

Our goal is to develop, in cooperation with the community, a flexible strategy for the construction of a building that can solve the immediate need for training and offer a place for discussions, which in the long term can strengthen the community’s  resilience.

In parallel with the development of the project, we have produced a heritage report. Heritage is the cross-cutting theme of our work, both in terms of tangible assets and intangible heritage such as traditional livelihoods and cultural practices.

Every year Bungamati, together with rest of Nepal, celebrates Dashain: A festival of feasting; dancing; kite-flying and coming together as a family, community and cultural group to celebrate the end of hard agricultural work and the beginning of the harvest.

Having presented several proposals to the community of Chohel Nani, with a focus on existing regulations, restrictions, heritage, use and placement, we have narrowed the project proposal down to a structure that the community is excited to bring forward.

Based on our surveys, taken from an interface of the population, community consultations and research, we have been able to develop the project in a way that safeguards the complexity of the cultural, historical and administrative situation. We are, through a laborious process, now drawing closer to a final proposal.

Often referred to as a ‘Public rest house’ the Pati/Sattal is a typology which houses both tangible and intangible heritage. In old Newari settlements, it is frequently seen and easily distinguishable as a social hub where anyone can take temporary shelter with no restriction.

In order to ensure a neutral and rewarding dialogue with all parts of those affected by this project, we use methods that are concerned with exploring needs, values and aspirations of residents as well as confronting their individual and collective aspirations for the project.

As a way of empowering and upskilling the community of Chohel Nani, we plan to deliver training on safe construction techniques, management of construction projects and heritage integration.

This stage of the project continues to support the community in Chohel Nani as they begin to reconstruct their houses as well as developing our research of Chohel Nani’s intangible and tangible heritage to determine which community-led project our training intervention can help facilitate.

The last structured meeting in this series addressed the reconstruction of Chohel Nani in a collective and coherent way with a focus on keeping the cultural heritage intact as well as integrating the aspect of safety into the design.

One of the greatest challenges people affected by the earthquake are facing is the economy. With agriculture as the main source of income, most are not in a position to save money for rebuilding or even apply for a loan. Their only solution is, therefore, to know how to use the sparse government grant and to be clever in their reconstruction methods.

Our third structured meeting was aimed at helping the community clarify various concerns regarding how to build back their home safely, including some important design aspects of earthquake resistant buildings and the behaviour of materials.

The first obstacle to overcome when reconstructing your home in Bungamati is the jungle of rules and regulations. These charters and bylaws are basically the same for all Nepal, but the general regulations encounter problems when it comes to cultural heritage.

We had our first structured meeting with the community of Chohel Nani with an agenda to organise a committee of the neighbourhood and hear about their specific needs and aspirations on how residents could reconstruct through collaboration.

After analysing four key focus sites in Bungamati, Chohel Nani tole was chosen as a place to conduct a pilot project for a temporary learning centre. The choice was based on Chohel Nani’s strong community connection to the square and the qualities of its existing Pati.

During the international workshop, run in September 2016 with 34 international and 10 local participants, the participants worked alongside residents to co-design strategies for Bungamati, focusing on design, planning and building techniques.

The town of Bungamati is a short distance away from Kathmandu, 10km south of Patan. It has a population of around 6,000 and over 1,100 houses, most of which were damaged in the 2015 earthquakes.

Resilience by Design is a programme that unites a series of live projects and international workshops exploring socio-ecological issues in the context of rapid urban change, climate hazards, environmental and man-made disasters, resource scarcities and depleted ecosystems.