On Monday 13th March, 2023 CEO Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, Prof. Yasmeen Lari met with His Royal Majesty, King Charles at Commonwealth Day Reception at Buckingham Palace. His Majesty supported her zero carbon initiatives, sustainable buildings and green techniques.
Topics: Newsblog
Cambridge
Having lost everything due to 2022 Flood, millions of families today need food supplies. Due to Government’s non action and slow action of NGOs they are likely to remain shelter-less for a long time. However, I believe with very little investment, we can enable families to begin growing food for their survival.
What is Food Security programme?
At a small charge to households, the various segments are implemented by Barefoot Entrepreneurs belonging to Sponsoring Villages who, at a small charge, provide guidance for making platforms, divide up the village land into areas in order to begin growing fruit trees, vegetables and bushes/grain, and provide training to make mud/lime bricks to make village boundary walls.
What are Sponsoring Villages?
These are Yasmeen Lari’s Zero Carbon villages that have become self sufficient who have agreed to sponsor destitute villages in their vicinity to provide guidance for food security.
What are Dosti Villages?
These are destitute villages who have received no help so far but have now been adopted by Sponsoring Villages to provide guidance and help.
How will Dosti Villages become Food Secure?
Only essential equipment and materials costing Rs. 110,000 are needed to enable 50-70 families in each village to begin growing food.
a. One raised handpump: Rs. 15,000
b. One solar panel: Rs. 40,000
c. 40 bags of lime: Rs. 20,000
d. Maa ka Dastarkhwan (Mothers dining) for 7 days providing cooked food for 90-100 persons to support collective building of village boundary walls: Rs. 35,000
Expert teams of Sponsoring Villages provide guidance and training at a small charge to each family.
How can Dosti Villages be sponsored?
For each village of 50-70 households funds can be sent to Mothers Committees, who will arrange for procurement and disbursement. Heritage Foundation of Pakistan will allocate villages, oversee installation and provide feedback. A link to Google map will be provided which will show progress in each village on a database of Dosti Villages.
Topics: Blog
Cambridge
While at Cambridge, it has been difficult to continue with my blogs in a regular fashion. However, there has been much thought and a great deal of discussion with my team at home. And I am pleased to report that we are being supported fully by communities in moving on in many directions.
The most important development is the seriousness with which the communities have responded and are working hard to plant and grow food for consumption of their families first. But as the produce is growing in quantity, mechanism has to be put in place for collection and sales of these items.
Many steps have been taken in order to make the dry and ostensibly barren land into fertile, food growing area. The one thing that has been bothering me is that in Sindh, we find the landlords orchards flourishing; however, even though village may be in the midst of orchards, nothing would be cultivated there. Either the hari or the farm labour was not encouraged to grow, even though it is the same farm labour that toils to make profit for landlords. It occurred to me that either the villagers never had enough courage to build on what they think is the landlord’s land, or because of the hard crust, they assumed that the land was barren and will not bear any results if plantation was taken up.
As we began to work on the village, we found that in most places, water was available quite easily and the area was conducive to growing produce. On an experimental basis the hard crust was removed to 12”-18’, treated with water and organic compost and we found that indeed the soil below supported growing of vegetables, fruit etc.
Also, while making excavation for a low cost water storage tank at grade, it was found that water was available quite close to the ground surface and as the artisans dug, the water level kept on being maintained. And if we did not line the tank, it would be ideal for breeding small fish. So that is the beginning of small fish breeding by groups of families. And now that the fish are growing well, a process of fish drying has been started so that all surplus fish could be stored or sold.
The solar dehydration of vegetables and fruit, which has been taken up by communities enthusiastically, has shown good results. If organized properly this provides huge opportunities for ensuring food security along with income generation.
Now that the social franchise system is taking root, there would be possibility of extensive sales during off season time for various vegetables and fruit etc.
Topics: Blog
Yasmeen Lari is Pakistan’s first woman architect. She designed iconic modernist buildings before initiating a zero-carbon self-build movement for climate refugees and the landless. This exhibition uses Lari’s oeuvre as an example to show how the relationship of architecture to the future has changed.
Exhibition: Yasmeen Lari - Architecture for the future
Publication: Yasmeen Lari - Architecture for the future
Topics: News Blog
On Thursday, 2nd February, 2023 Consul General of Germany H.E. Mr. Rüdiger Lotz and his wife visited Pono Colony village along with Senator Nasreen Jalil. They enjoyed the village hospitality and local food with great enthusiasm. They highly appreciated Heritage Foundation of Pakistan’s efforts of rehabilitation and development of flood affected communities.
Topics: News Blog
Prof. Yasmeen Lari has designed a “Reassembled Masjid” from prefabricated bamboo panels & roofs, which was fabricated at ZC3, Makli and was shipped to Jeddah to be installed at the venue of Islamic Art Biennale (23 January - 23 April 2023). Project Manager, Mr. Naheem Hussain Shah, Senior Architect, Ashfaq Ahmed & three artisans travelled to IAB venue to supervise the installation of the said Masjid.
Topics: eNews
KARACHI
As we initiated the programme in Village Taj Mohammad who had done
extremely well in their earnings last month, it was surprising how enthusiastically
the entire programme was received. Thus almost immediately after my discussion
and the blog, Project Manager Naheem took up the matter with the village and
organized the teams for getting work started.
Since work on provision of handpump and solar lights has already been taken in
hand, and information regarding households etc. was already compiled, we were
able to get going fairly quickly.
In addition to the allocation for various essential items, another condition I have
imposed is that each sponsored village must immediately nominate three women
as village committee who will be responsible for providing information and
oversee implementation. If they begin to perform their duties well, they will be
provided with a cell phone in order to make reporting easier for them.
Additionally, joint accounts for all three should be opened with a local bank asap.
This would become important as they are made responsible for reporting and also
in case any funds need to be transferred for work in the village.
Topics: Flood Blogs
INTRODUCTION:
Millions of people are without any cover after four and half
months of a major flood disaster in Pakistan. Although
much has been done with emergency supplies and provision of
tents but most remain in a state of desperation. Similarly school
children almost in Sindh are also bereft of any school buildings.
It is estimated that over 22,000 original school buildings in
Singh are partially or fully damaged and can no longer be used
for holding classes. Thus school going children in the provincce
have been without any learing possibilties for the last several
months. If the poor state of education because of COVID
closures and the usual ghost school sydrome is added to the
problem, it would seem that several million children have suffered
throughout this period and are today without a smattering
of learning. Do they have any chance of survival in the competitive
21st century?
Topics: News Blog
KARACHI
Only a couple of weeks ago I had written about starting a parallel strategy for recovery with the aim to get the basic water arrangement with a handpump and water storage tank to be carried out in villages where the use of existing ponds for fish farming could also be started with a meagre allocation of Rs. 20,000 for a village of 50 households.
As we began working it became clear that the level of deprivation and poverty is so great and there needs to be greater effort if the Interim Recovery Strategy is to be successful.
To achieve every affected hosusehold’s minimum level of subsistence, it would be imporant to place emphasis on food prodction in addition to certain other needs. As we know this issue affects millions and it is well nigh impossible to secure enough esources to enable survival of these communities.
Village to Village Partnership – Gaon, Gaon Dosti
Since my attempt always is to provide assistance to communities at the least possible cost, it occurs to me that the Pono village cluster, with its spirit of generosity that exists in its communities, is now poised to help others. As the HF team worked out, with funding of only Rs. 100,000 per 50 families, it would be possible to provide many components which would get those still in need to be placed on the path of recovery.
T have deided to immediately take up 10 villages near Pono village cluster where work on installation of handpumps and fish breeding has already been taken in hand.
Topics: NewsBlog
KARACHI
This blog is in continuation of the earlier blog regarding first learnings and provides more detailed information regarding building of school rooms and the curriculum for basic learning that has been developed.
According to conservative estimates the number of schools fullly damaged and partially damagd runs into several thousands which means that in Sindh the schooll going children have been without any learing possibilties for the last several months. If the poor state of education because of COVID closures and the usual ghost school sydrome is added to the problem, it would seem that several million children have suffered throghout this period and without a smattering of learning, they have no chance of surivival in the competitive 21st century.
How can we leave generations in our country without dealing with this issue. The problem is extremely complex because of high cost of usual construction and non availability of funds to be able to provide even a basic teaching room, let alone provision of toilets and potable water. However, if we could accept it as a challenge and work out sustaiable solutions, it is my belief that we could use this opportunity to bring about the social change that is needed today.
The prototype for the propsal has been started in the successful pilot of 1,000 households to create sustaiable zero carbon communities where the first schol room has been built in early December. In the 1,000 households pilot, the basic needs and flood mitigation and environmental improvement components, along with barefoot enterprises in each village for income generation, has been accomplished within 10 weeks. The Pono Vilage cluster is ready to take up the next phase.
Health and some other aspects of further flood mitigation measures alsong with storage of grain/food and cattle feed and safety are being gradually take up. However, in view of the plight of school going age children, we felt that focus on missing school rooms was essential.
Some weeks ago, Chief Executive, The Hampton School, educationist and director Heritage Foundation has provided training to 4 local village teachers to begin the basic learing programme.
We have now begun building another school room along with two eco toilets in a village near Pono cluster which is being built as a protuype for interested organizations to examine it as a model of a sustainable school and whether it could be taken up by them to embark on the challenging task of provision of safe rooms for our children’s education.
Among important initiatives would be to encourage local universities and corporate sector to initiate a programme for joint school building with student volunteers and community on the same pattern as Heritage Foundation’s Climate Volunteers.
Topics: NewsBlog
