Over 10,000 tribal families were displaced by the construction of two large dams and water reservoirs with the assistance of the World Bank at the lowest possible cost. This project aimed to house them in 32 new resettlement sites, termed ‘villages’. This exercise developed methodologies and technologies for community building and to enable self-help housing through pilot demonstration with the hope of large-scale replication. A number of dwelling typologies were designed, based on a study of traditional dwellings in the region and taking into consideration the transition to a new context. The government agency involved in the resettlement provided materials and technical support, and the families carried out the actual construction. The families had the option of replicating one of the new dwelling typologies introduced through the pilot or building any way they desired.
In almost all the cases the families opted for the new prototypes—an indication that the project was a success.