Week that Was – April 23rd

Project Management

Last week a bunch of activities were planned for.

We submitted the final list of sites in Cuttack to be renovated based on our survey results and subsequent discussions. Key government members are meeting this week to discuss this and we are expecting the final approval soon.

The land identification process is continuing at full pace in Bhubaneswar. We worked with the Slum Improvement department to identify a list of unauthorized but tenable slums. These slums are not authorized by the government but the probability of them getting displaced is almost nill.

This week, we are working with the land department to identify exact sites for construction in these slums. Once this exercise is done, we’ll be able to reach our targeted sites and complete the land identification process.

The heat wave is cruel in the field but the team is working on all fronts to meet the deadlines!

Communications

The blog was officially launched! After the fun and excitement of losing power at our sister studio in Hauz Khas Village, and the subsequent, if brief, delay in going live, it is now up and running.

We added some final tweaks to the initial posts, drafted the author bios and finalized the media to be included for the launch posts. We also created a blogging calendar to parcel out writing assignments for the team, which was met with mixed emotions: the budding Hemingways are thrilled; those suffering from graphophobia, not so much. Everyone is ecstatic at having this engine to communicate our efforts to the world, though.

Work continues on editing the homestay footage as well as some other video content generated during our most recent trip to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

Research & Design

Rikta is leading development of the Potty Lab and this week we really stepped up work on designing the testing itself as well as the spaces and platform required to do this. We’re quite excited about recruiting users from nearby slums in Delhi and Gurgaon to come into the studio and watch as our designs go from the drawing board to prototype.

Amongst the other exciting developments that have been taking place in Project Sammaan, we’re quite excited to have launched the Open Innovation Challenge this week. The challenge is a way for the team to open up the project to public participation in three areas: architectural intervention, soap dispensers for hand-washing and waste management. We’re seeding

We’re eagerly awaiting 20th May when all the entries will be in. Stay tuned for more on that front.