Lalee ran home from school with a couple of her friends on a hot April afternoon. She couldn’t wait to get back and join her parents who were helping Vikram uncle build a new roof over their two-room house. Vikram had dropped by a couple of weeks ago and explained how Lalee’s family could have a leak-proof and fire-proof Micro Concrete Tile roof over their house for as little as 4500 Rupees (less than US$100). The best part was that he was willing to take payment in instalments. Several of young Lalee’s schoolmates already had a "Cement" Tile roof (or 'Khapra' as it is locally referred to). They would tease her about the thatch roof on Lalee’s house that had to be kept intact with pieces of plastic and wire. Lalee was so overwhelmed with joy, she could hardly sleep the night when she overheard her mother and father finally agreeing to buy tiles from Vikram. They figured out that the tiles would actually cost only 1800 Rupees for their 300 square feet roof and that they could use most of their old understructure. If they helped Vikram build the roof, he would provide the roofing service free.

Lalee lives in Bidaul, a small village of Muzaffarpur district of North Bihar – perhaps one of the most under-developed regions of India. Yet, like her family, there are thousands of others in this region alone who have improved their homes. Nearly two million tiles have been placed on roofs in North Bihar over the last six years by a growing family of smart entrepreneurs. It’s just a small part of over sixteen million tiles sold by a continuously increasing number of more than 270 workshops in rural India.

A look at Programme Area – Shelter

DA’s Shelter Programme spans a broad spectrum of activities that enable a wide array of private and institutional role players in their quest to improve living conditions in the country. These include :

- Customised solutions for Technology, Livelihood and Habitat Promoters
- Development of Products and Technology Packages
- Technical, Financial and Marketing Support Systems for Enterprises
- Creation of Delivery Models for Housing
- Information and Advisory Support

The major focus in this past year has been on technology customization and consolidation of know-how, processes and delivery methodologies. This has included both customization of Ferro Cement roofs developed in DA with support of BMTPC and also the Hydraform system sourced from South Africa and the RCC Planks and Joists system developed by CBRI.

With a limited finance now available for enterprise development, onward lending programs have been initiated. Product marketing and market creation has been initiated through varied models, including the TARAhaat - DA’s rural internet portal.

Increased emphasis has been on Documentation and Information Dissemination of SBT. While the basin database entries have been a regular feature, DA provides a large number of training manuals, information dossiers, standardized financial project reports for entrepreneurs etc. A book on efficiency in cement use - Cement in the Service of the Nation has been published by the Cement Manufacturers Association of India.

The Building Materials Program is poised to launch large scale initiatives wherein it will focus at shelter improvement in less developed markets. Concentration of effort shall be towards poverty alleviation through large-scale delivery of enterprises and related interventions of market development and demand creation in the rural Bundelkhand region of India. Housing and habitat processes in disaster affected regions will be an important focus area.  Brief reports on ongoing Projects follow:

The Project was designed to be implemented in three modules:

- MCR in commercial market mode at a national scale
- CEB in commercial and institutional mode in selected regions
- Regional focus for overall habitat quality impact in the Central Indian region of Bundelkhand.

The main objective of this phase is to develop strategies for subsequent large-scale dissemination and to build up the capacity needed for dissemination of the VSBK technology. The Pre-dissemination Phase of the SDC : India Brick Project (IBP) from 1 July 2000, plan to establish Lead Entrepreneurs and Technology Providers in markets where implementation by the five partner organizations will be undertaken. Typically, VSBKs are being established by entrepreneurs at their own cost, who are now convinced about the viability of the new production technology.

A significant component of the project concentrates on the socio-economic interventions in the brick sector as a whole to address the issues of improving working conditions of families engaged in small-scale clamps and Bulls Trench Kilns. The social action component will focus on participatory planning processes in Datia district; Bundelkhand and special emphasis will be given on locating existing and potential women groups.

Ashraya: DA CARE- Core House Construction Partnership : Orissa Launched after the Orissa Super cyclone in 1999, the Program is designed to address the immediate shelter needs of 1400 below poverty line families in coastal Orissa. At the same time, it seeks to setup a process to ensure sustainable supply of building materials to the affected region through locally managed Building Material and Services Banks (BMSBs), with three such banks already in operation. The critical components of the program have been: Customised technological solutions for cyclone resistant construction, Implementation through local partnership with NGOs, capacity building of local NGO partners and artisans, awareness raising amongst families and setting up delivery systems. The capacities of all stakeholders have been enhanced significantly, with DA now essentially involved in technical guidance and backstopping. This program is now entering its critical phase of active demand creation in the region and a transition of the NGO run BMSBs towards enterprise mode for the long-term sustainability of the housing process. A BMTPC supported programme is dovetailed with the Ashraya programme to demonstrate SBTs through public buildings such as village schools, panchayat offices and health centres in the affected region in Cuttack district.

DA-GTZ: Building Center Project

Following the super cyclone, a large number of Building Centers were set up in Orissa which need to be looked upon as vibrant centers of growth by both individuals and entrepreneurs. The DA - GTZ project aims to provide critical project management and technical assistance to two existing building centers of the Arupananda Mission Research Foundation (AMRF) in Coastal Orissa in order that their operations become commercially viable in the local rural private markets. The issues being addressed are diverse and appropriate portfolio of products, technologies and services; correct business planning and correct management practices.

DA-CARE Livelihood Program aims to set up six enterprises for the production and delivery of concrete blocks in the earthquake affected region initially to the FICCI-CARE reconstruction program and later to sell through the open market. The enterprises are financed through a soft rotating loan repayable in two years. DA identified the entrepreneurs, sourced technology and equipment, provided training in production skills and in financial and production management. This is just a small intervention, which can potentially spawn other similar livelihood opportunities in the region.

A set of detailed technical manuals for the design, production and utilization of MCR tiles and ferrocement roofing channels are being developed. These are aimed at engineers, architects and construction supervisors. A step-by-step pictorial production guide has already been prepared for the use by production teams.

Another DA-BMTPC venture is concerned with upgrading Ferrocement technology for enhancing the quality of equipment and product. The production process is being simplified through innovative changes in the equipment and package for delivery to vendors for equipment manufacture and entrepreneurs for setting up enterprises.

With the limited resources at its disposal and focussed mandate of being an enabling organization, DA can at best create replicable models. It is our belief that the development of mass marketing strategies for sustainable building materials and technologies will result in:

- The widespread use of environment friendly materials and energy efficient technologies
- The large-scale creation of sustainable livelihoods through small scale enterprise packages
- Improvement in shelter conditions through increased affordability and accessibility to
  products and services.

The essence of DA's work is reaching out to the rural poor – people who dream of living in better homes; reaching out to families that could, from a range of sensible options, make informed choices about materials and building systems. We must ask ourselves whether the conventional array of housing "schemes" present a convincing value proposition to the target group for which they are intended. Probably not. Isn't our primary task then, to create networks of value providers who work together in seamless chain to make sure that solutions of choice reach the unreached.

DA's mission is to convert technologies into trades to provide sustainable livelihoods to millions.