80% of India’s poor, defined as “those who live on $1.90 a day or less” by the World Bank, live in rural communities (World Bank, 2012; World Bank, 2019). Additionally, rural populations have higher unemployment rates than urban areas, as well as underemployment rates, as much of the work may be seasonal manual labor that does not provide a year-round income. Thus, an important aspect of the solutions proposed was the need to connect strategies to economic development. For example, the water harvesting farm-ponds proposed by the design team combined aquaculture and chicken coops over the ponds so that chicken waste can become the feed for fish and farmers can benefit economically in multiple ways – through increased crop yield through availability of irrigation water, aquaculture that can be used for both subsistence and commercial purpose and the chicken coops that prevent water from evaporating as well as provide feed for fish and value in the market when sold.

Water Harvesting Farm-Ponds: Diagram showing proposed aquaculture system that benefits farmers financially in a sustainable way.

In such contexts, design development, planning and evaluation cannot be dependent on only site and usage observation, inventory and analysis. Conversations and feedback from key stakeholders is a crucial component to understanding both the socio-cultural nuances influencing design and the feasibility of design ideas. For example, between the many different design solutions possible to a given problem, those solutions that have governmental incentives and support have the most likelihood of being implemented. Thus, one of the key tasks for the Critical Places design team was to get feedback from various government officers from departments such as Fisheries and Livestock, Agriculture and Irrigation, Block Development and similar to understand current government schemes and financial incentives. Similarly, community feedback and buy-in was also critical to the final design ideas developed. Feedback from the community and other stakeholders influenced design strategies.

Meeting with Government Officers: Critical Places team meets with the Forest Department.

For more place-based solutions, three sites that are classified as public land in the village land-use maps were designed as landscape infrastructure for addressing the five key issues and are a part of the overall strategies and systems proposed in the Masterplan. These are designed as multifunctional landscapes and will also serve as the village community’s new public spaces.

The first focus site adjoins the talaab and is designed to address irrigation water scarcity and provide a space for aquaculture, while also being developed as a tourist attraction and a social space.

Irrigation Water: Aerial view of the stream running alongside Dhamori.

The second site is the area adjacent to the river and close to the village market where grey-water and non-biodegradable solid waste from the village settlement passes through before draining into the stream.

The third site is an area used for open defecation along the stream bank. Monsoon flooding of the stream is a problem for the community living along the stream embankment, offering design opportunities to transform the site into a public working landscape infrastructure that addresses critical water issues on site.

Drainage in Dhamori: Uncovered nalas, or drains, line Dhamori's roads, collecting trash as water travels to the stream.

Dhamori Community Speaks: Dhamori sarpanch [village council-head] and villagers discuss water and waste-related issues facing their community.

Community Testimonies: Dhamori resident Shri Ganesh ji discusses the impact the Critical Places team has had on his village.

Landscape Infrastructure: The third design transforms an area used for open defecation and susceptible to monsoonal flooding into a landscape infrastructure that can provide more flood-bearing capacity, public toilets and black-water filtration systems.