Development

Over the past ten years we have made a number of films for donor agencies, including a series of films for the Department for International Development (DFID). These films have documented a variety of DFID projects in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, in eastern India. Projects have included the building and maintenance of primary health care centres and schools using low-cost and alternative construction technology. A primary objective of these projects has been to work with local communities, and to lower construction costs through the use of locally available materials and talents and through the institution of financial accounting that is both decentralized and transparent. Modified versions of some of these films have been aired on BBC. We are currently working on a film in Pushkar on Municipal Solid Waste Management and Lake Conservation.The film is supported by IL&FS.

Vidyalayam (1996)

Client / Financial Support: Department for International Development (DFID, India)
Duration: 16 mts

The overall objective of the Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project was to achieve a substantial qualitative improvement in classroom practices, teacher competency and learning outcomes, within an appropriate environment and thereby to contribute towards the objective of Universal Primary Education. In 1993 the Panchayati Raj Engineering Department, Andhra Pradesh, embarked on a voyage of discovery seeking assistance and guidance from the myriad of architectural and engineering institutions and individuals within India who have been involved in the development of alternative approaches to construction. Selected agencies worked with the local engineers and contractors on 29 sites around Rangareddy district in Andhra Pradesh to construct a series of prototype classrooms utilising the selected designs and technologies. This film documents all aspects of the project and will serve as a visual planning tool for other projects wishing to utilise cost effective construction technologies.

An abridged version of Vidyalayam was shown on BBC as part of their series, Hands On. It has also been used extensively in DFID's development work in Africa.

SAHAY: Sustainable Architecture for Health Care and You (1999)

Client / Financial Support: Department for International Development (DFID, India)
Duration: 22 mts

"How can scarce resources be rationally allocated and used at all stages in the development of health-care facilities - including the planning, construction and functioning - so as to meet at least basic health requirements while simultaneously minimizing wastage?" This was the question posed by the Orissa Health and Family Welfare Department in 1997. It is a complex question and there can be no single answer to it. The Government of Orissa responded to the question by initiating a small demonstration programme that planned, designed and built three Primary Health Centre complexes through their Health Sector Reform Programme. Monetary support was provided by the Government's Minimum Needs Programme; technical support came from the Department For International development.

This video documents the process adopted by the programme. In no way does it profess to provide a comprehensive resolution to the problem posed above. However, it does offer hope that with forethought, planning, sincerity, and cooperation from relevant programme partners it may be possible to provide improved access to health care through infrastructure that is aesthetically pleasing, durable and cost-effective.

An abridged version of Sahay was shown on BBC, as part of their series, Hands On.

I CARE: Integrated Community Asset Renewal Efforts (2000)

Client / Financial Support: Department for International Development (DFID, India)
Duration: 11 mts

An acute shortage of funds led to a decision in 1994 to use Cost Effective Construction Technology in the building of 59 demonstration primary schools in the Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh. Many of these models and techniques have subsequently been adopted in other parts of the state, resulting in a significant improvement in the quality of the environment in which students learn, but also lowered costs per square foot of school building. Five years into the project, the Andhra Pradesh government confronted the problem of maintaining, and possibly upgrading these buildings. To get around this problem of ownership, the Andhra Pradesh government, in association with the Department for International Development, decided to involve the students, their parents and the teachers - in other words, the end-users themselves - in maintaining and upgrading their school buildings.

Revisiting Vidyalayam (1999)

Client / Financial Support: University of Westminster and HUDCO.
Duration: 15 mts.

We returned to Rangareddy district to document how the schools had fared two years after being built. See Vidyalayam for more information.

Palmyra: A Film on Afforestation, Soil and Water Conservation (1996)

Client / Financial Support: Palmyra
Duration: 23 mts

PALMYRA is an NGO working in the Auroville region in the field of soil and water conservation and afforestation. The significance of the need for an integrated approach to watershed management is more imperative now than it was ever before. Considerable land degradation has taken place due to modern agricultural practices which plunder one of the most precious natural resources - soil. The Auroville region has loose soil most of which has already been washed away leaving the terrain highly degraded in the form of gullies and ravines and hence the need for urgent attention to treat the land in this area. Palmyra set upon itself the task of regenerating the area's soil and water resources and with the help of The Ministry of Wastelands Development started work, adopting an integrated approach to watershed management.

Believing in the holistic approach to Integrated watershed management, Palmyra is working in other spheres of development activities. Several school buildings have been constructed by Palmyra using innovative classroom design with proper light and ventilation. There has been a major emphasis on construction of toilets in the field of sanitation. The innovative approach of Palmyra reflects in almost all activities it undertakes.

Core Area Slums

Client / Financial Support: Max Lock Centre, University of Westminster, London
Duration: 22 mts

Most cities in the Third World have enclaves or pockets of slum dwellers, often located within the heart of a rapidly expanding city. Over the past decade, as economies have opened up and cities have attempted to modernize, the pressures to more optimally use scarce space have mounted. The presence of a slum cluster on prime real-estate is increasingly seen as unacceptable and a poor rationalization of resources. Inevitably, and as has been documented in cities across the Third World, governments have worked to relocate these slums to the periphery. Land on the outskirts of cities is cheaper than the centre of town, but also, there is aesthetic relief for a city that sees itself on the move.

We are documenting on video the drivers and consequences of such forced relocation. We have focused specifically on the experience of the Motia Khan slum formerly located in close proximity to Connaught Place, New Delhi (the heart of the city), now moved to Rohini approximately 30 kms to the north, on the very outskirts of the city. Working with footage collected five years ago in the Motia Khan slum as well as more recently following the relocation to Rohini, we are exploring the economic, sanitary and other consequences of such forced displacement.