IMPACT

Assam, India

As part of the proactive efforts in Assam to prepare for the inevitable flooding this monsoon, a Nostos Homes community was set up in Nalbari, in partnership with GVM Assam.

Bimol Deka is a farmer who lives with his wife and three young children in a village named Bardhanara in Nalbari, a particularly flood prone district in a north-eastern state of India named Assam. Every year, as the monsoons roll into the Indian subcontinent, Assam witnesses large-scale forcible displacement from flooding and subsequent landslides. The trauma of last year’s floods is still fresh in Bimol's mind. With over 880,000 people affected, it was some of the worst floods Assam had witnessed in the last decade. During this traumatic time of loss of life and property, Bimol and his family had little to no avenues to seek refuge. By the time aid rolled in post the disaster, they had already spent days, and in some cases weeks, with no proper shelter or safety in unimaginable hardship.

This year, to proactively prepare for displacement ahead of the flood cycle, Nostos Homes, in partnership with Gramya Vikash Mancha (GVM) Assam, has built a community of innovative modular Nostos homes in Nalbari, a village in Assam. This community was deployed in April 2023 and can facilitate more than 131,000 nights of housing for families like Bimol’s that face potential displacement from flooding. On seeing the Nostos community, Bimol says (translated from Assamese), “Every year, hundreds of thousands of people like me become victims of floods. Now, I am confident that we have some ready-made shelters in which to stay during disasters. Thanks, Team Nostos, your houses are a blessing for us”.

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Every year, hundreds of thousands of people like me become victims of floods. Now, I am confident that we have some ready-made shelters in which to stay during disasters.

Bimol Deka

Bimol and his family live in the flood prone district of Nalbari, Assam

Since the Nostos design is optimised to allow quick construction without specialised tools or training, the homes were assembled by the local community members who found it intuitive and easy to assemble. The components of the homes were prefabricated and the homes were brought to the site as a shelter kit, with a single truck being able to carry 4 homes. Co-founder and CEO of Nostos Homes, Kaushal Shetty, says, “The Nostos design allows the home to be shipped in the back of a truck and so we are able to very easily transport the home even in hilly terrains like Assam. This gives us the potential to scale across such geographies around the world”.

The Nostos community built will allow the local families to have a place to find protection and shelter immediately post the disasters and displacement expected this monsoon. Devika Narayanan, Chief of Staff of Nostos, says, “Proactively designing and deploying for the future needs of these families allows us to service displaced communities immediately post a disaster, with virtually zero downtime. Since the Nostos community is already set up, the vulnerable families of Nalbari will not have to scramble for safety amidst the rains and floods”.

The Deputy Commissioner of Nalbari, Gitimoni Phukan, had expressed her support for the Nostos Homes community ahead of the deployment, saying “Nalbari, being a flood prone district, is in need of such homes to enable flood affected families to shift into when their homes are washed away by flooded rivers”.

The Nostos homes community was built in April, as the state of Assam welcomed the traditional New Year with the festival of Bihu. With a fresh and proactive approach, Nostos homes and GVM Assam strives to revolutionise the flood relief efforts in the region by offering a community of resilient homes with the potential to save lives and livelihoods as the floods arrive.

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