Happy New Year!

It's 2011! The past two days have been filled with tons of activity. We rang in the new year at a resort on Kovalam Beach and I finally got to see and feel the Arabian Sea! We watched cultural performances, had dinner, took a walk on the beach, and danced under the stars and fireworks. It was pretty awesome.

We spent most of the day at Mithraniketan, home of COSTFORD, learning about the architectural styles of Laurie Baker and the organization's philosophical approach to low-cost, eco-sensitive housing. 

Mithraniketan

Tea time

Shailaja Nair

We also took a site visit to Karimadom, which is a slum that COSTFORD is working to rehabilitate. The current approach being taken to deal with slums in Kerala is rehabilitation, a stark contrast to (failed) attempts at slum eradication that were common in the past. Photos of Karimadom show part of the slum that has not yet undergone redevelopment as well as the new residential units that COSTFORD designed. Phase one of the redevelopment project has been completed and phase two is about to begin. Eventually, the entire slum of Karimodom will look like the COSTFORD buildings. We actually went inside one of the units and although very small, they were homey, individualized with painted walls and other personal touches, and most importantly, were a huge improvement to the residences' prior living situation. Many children were in Karimodom and they were very friendly, requesting that we take photos of them, asking our names, and following us around. One thing that we all noticed was how happy they seemed despite their situation. The woman who's home we visited expressed how pleased she was with her home. One thing that stood out to me about this project was how special and fun the buildings were. Even though they are low-cost, the architectural style of COSTFORD is so interesting.

Existing slum residences in Karimodom

Rehabilitated residential units in Karimodom

Phase 1 of Karimodom

Phase 1 of Karimodom in forefront

Tomorrow we will travel to Padmanabhapuram Palace and to Kanyakumari, where we will stay the night. We won't be back to Thiruvananthapuram (the official spelling and pronunciation of Trivandrum, which is the British colonial version of the name) until January 3rd. I may not have internet access until then so it may be a few days before I post an update. Namaskaram.