Living heritage approach leads to owner-driven, post-earthquake reconstruction in Gujarat, India

After the earthquake of 2001, a network of grassroots organisations with a mission to rebuild Kutch evolved into various newer ones, including Hunnarshala. With its expertise in community-centric and artisan-based construction practices, the foundation had an important role in developing community-led, post-disaster rehabilitation processes.

The evolution of owner-driven reconstruction

Hunnarshala, along with partner organisations, pioneered what they came to call the owner-driven reconstruction (ODR) model. This meant empowering affected families to lead the process through informed decision making with technical guidance – rather than depending on contractor-, government- or NGO-driven processes. Various organisations, including Hunnarshala, worked to take forward this agenda with the ODR Collaborative.

Around the same time, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority was formed and ODR was adopted by the state government in its policy framework. 

Hunnarshala strongly advocated for a policy of community-led development and participatory planning at village level and at ward level in the cities. This ensured that the communities could rebuild according to their own cultural context, using their own social and spatial fabric – as an alternative to top-down housing recovery models.

Integrating traditional knowledge into post-disaster reconstruction

The reconstruction process in Kutch demonstrated that traditional building wisdom and modern seismic-resistant techniques can coexist.

For example, the reconstruction process drove the resurgence of bhungas (translated as ‘huts’) – traditional round structures with conical roofs built by communities in Kutch. The bhungas have inherent earthquake-resistant features owing to their circular shape, so were used in seismic-resistant housing models. 

They were upgraded to be more resilient, addressing some of the known weaknesses like the joints between roof and walls, and in the roof itself. It also meant the ‘new’ bhungas were more resistant to other natural disasters like cyclones.

Community tourist resort

Once the reconstruction was complete, the community went on to celebrate the bhungas as central to its cultural identity through the development of a tourist resort called Shaam-e-Sarhad (translates as ‘an evening at the border/edge’).

Huge mud bhungas were built to allow guests to experience the extraordinary white desert of Kutch. The resort showcases the community’s traditions, crafts, architecture and, most importantly, the hospitality of residents. 

Bhungas changed from being a symbol of the poor to creating a proud identity for the community. This was only possible because the people were allowed to make their own informed decisions.

The community was initially hesitant about the externally-proposed idea of homestays, as hosting foreigners in their homes felt unfamiliar. But instead of rejecting it outright, they discussed alternatives and decided to build a separate vaandh (cluster) for guests, which later became the resort area. 

This turned out to be a huge success for the community, and a symbol of their collectively-owned and nurtured living heritage. The facility is currently managed and maintained by the community. Even after 15 years, the accommodation gets booked up months in advance.

The work continues

Hunnarshala has continued working over the last two decades in various post-disaster reconstruction contexts such as Nepal, following the same values of decentralisation, frugality, people-centric processes and inclusiveness.

Most recently it worked in Bela, one of the northern villages of Kutch, on a project that involved drone imagery, 3D laser scanning and community interviews to document both tangible and intangible heritage. Traditional ways of building were documented with local people, so strengths and weaknesses were discussed with local artisans. 

The idea of heritage was accepted as not being the forts and palaces of royal families, but as the common wisdom and social capital of the people – and practices that have developed through many generations.

Adaptation, transformation and continuity

These initiatives treat heritage as a dynamic process of continuity and transformation, not as static preservation. Post-earthquake reconstruction was not about restoring ruins, but about enabling communities to adapt traditional wisdom to contemporary needs, strengthening both identity and safety. 

By integrating oral histories, craft traditions and settlement patterns into reconstruction, these initiatives illustrate how heritage is lived, produced and reinterpreted daily by local people.

Hunnarshala’s post-disaster recovery approach relied on adaptation as a means of continuity. Communities rebuilt using their traditional technologies but with certain improvements to address issues that might have crept in over time due to changes in lifestyles, or access to resources.

This adaptive process respects the traditional wisdom while responding to more contemporary risks. In Bela, the work advances this idea further, as digital documentation and risk mapping help decide whether structures should be repaired, retrofitted or replaced. 

Repair and reuse are prioritised over demolition and rebuilding with something which is alien to that place. Technology is used to support heritage continuity rather than erase it.

Challenging traditional hierarchies

One of the benefits of following a community-led process is that it democratises knowledge production and ownership. Instead of external architects, engineers or contractors dictating the process, families, community leaders, artisans and women’s groups become the decision makers and co-creators. 

Local masons, mostly coming from oppressed castes, become the leads, supervisors and certifiers of the reconstruction process. Women’s groups help monitor budgets giving them financial empowerment, and communities make collective design decisions relying on their inter-generational wisdom and social capital.

This approach challenges conventional hierarchies of 'expert' and 'beneficiary’, proving that every homeowner holds valuable knowledge in shaping resilient and meaningful built environments.

Living heritage as a collective language

Community-led processes become an essential medium to turn post-disaster work into an opportunity for building back a stronger community, creating a space for mutual respect and dialogue, while certain positive biases are also introduced to neutralise the social hierarchies that may creep in.

Houses are seen as more than just a physical structure, but as a way to strengthen the existing social fabric, while addressing existing conflicts and issues. 

The reconstruction process becomes a way of creating a non-judgmental, ‘come as you are’ space for communities. This takes time. However, through collective decision making about house layouts, public spaces and resource distribution, communities can resolve tensions over land, caste or priorities with dialogue rather than confrontation.

Thus ‘living heritage’ becomes a collective language – a way for communities to engage with development and change in inclusive, non-polarising ways.