yasmeenlari

Representatives of Planning & Development Dept Gov. of Sindh along with European Union - UNIDO team visited Pono Markaz.

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Prof. Yasmeen Lari to receive the 2023 Royal Gold Medal for architecture - RIBA Press Release

❝ I was so surprised to hear this news and of course totally delighted! I never imagined that as I focus on my country's most marginalised people — venturing down uncharted vagabond pathways - I could still be considered for the highest of honours in the architectural profession. 

‘RIBA has heralded a new direction for the profession, encouraging all architects to focus not only on the privileged but also humanity at large that suffers from disparities, conflicts and climate change. There are innumerable opportunities to implement principles of circular economy, de-growth, transition design, eco-urbanism, and what we call Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA) to achieve climate resilience, sustainability and eco justice in the world.❞

-- Prof. Yasmeem Lari

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32. Flood Blog by Ar. Yasmeen Lari - Disaster response strategy 1

Karachi
STRATEGY 1
The following are the details of Strategy I
Zero Carbon Villages Holistic model @ Rs. 42,800 per household.
This model is based on my Adopt-a-Village programme requiring fund raising by partner organizations.
a. Rights based zero carbon provision of one safe room,1 shared eco toilets, shared hand water pumps, shared solar lighting, earthen Pakistan Chulah stove.
b. Flood mitigation measures using earthen walls, earthen platforms, community forests, and bamboo barriers. In addition, water absorption mechanisms consisting of aquifer wells and aquifer trenches, porous pavements and soft ground surfaces.
c. Livelihoods based on barefoot enterprises for fulfilling the unmet needs of communities e.g., wall matting, roof thatching, brick making, briquettes and organic soap, low-cost terracotta products along with food items e.g., fish farming, chicken and goat breeding, nursery and plantations.
d. Provision of social franchises based on micro loans of Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 for setting up commerce driven barefoot enterprises for accelerated marketing of local products and produce.
Many of these villages, who are now secure with rights-based development along with sufficient earnings from Barefoot Eco Enterprises, they have become food secure and self-sufficient.
They have now become sufficiently trained and have now embarked on sharing their knowledge and skills as Barefoot Eco Entrepreneurs on a small fee. The model is labelled Champa model, as she is the one who proved the BASA principle of how sharing expertise and teaching other disadvantaged persons, however poor they might be, are willing to pay small remunerations for the assistance they received. The small amount of Rs. 200 as fee has demonstrated how so many of the BEEs in our holistic model villages have begun to earn large amounts within a few months.
Just as Champa and her husband Kanji have become millionaires, there are many budding millionaires in the offing, if we can make a success of my programme for Building Sustainable Eco Communities by Rehabilitating 1 million Households at a Time.
Flood Blogs
Disaster Response Strategy 1
by Yasmeen Lari
27 March 2023

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31. Flood Blog by Ar. Yasmeen Lari - Disaster response strategy

KARACHI
Floods in Pakistan have wrought havoc in all provinces, and only a well thought out programme can provide relief to the millions that are displaced today. Since the government institutions are not interested in following zero carbon economical building techniques the provision of housing will remain slow leaving a vast number not only shelter-less but also suffering from hunger, malnutrition and water related ailments.
In order to deal with the inactivity in the humanitarian field, I have devised the following strategies:
1. Holistic model @ Rs. 42,800 per household.
This model is based on my Adopt-a-Village programme requiring fund raising by partner organizations and based on my pilot of 1,000 households in Pono Village. Two more partners are committed to take this model forward each with at least 1,000 families each. These are Ms. Safeeyah Moosa of Spiritual Chords,South Africa and Mr. Faiz Kidwai representing Rotary International.
2. Basic Shelter mocdel @ Rs. 30,000 per household
This model is based upon my ‘Build a Shelter’ Programme and has been adopted by several partners.
a, Zero Carbon One room prefabricated bamboo cottage for each household and shared prefabricated bamboo eco toilets.
This provides dignity and safety and allows families to incrementally add other elements to fulfill their needs.
Several partners have built varying numbers of these units notable among them:
Bank of Punjab
Dr. Sarwat in Muzaffargarh
3. Food Secure Dosti Villages model @ Rs. 1,800/household to sponsors
This model is based on my ‘Adopt a Destitute Village’ programme into Food Secure Communities through help of Sponsoring Villages
This strategy builds upon the goodwill and generosity of villages that have become self-sufficient as a result of the holistic model. 13 of Yasmeen Lari’s Zero Carbon villages have adopted 130 destitute villages to run the programme. The only input from outside sponsors for the provision of a water handpump, a solar panel and bags of lime in order that platforms could be built with lime/earth brick.The entire training programme for destitute villages is being carried out by the sponsoring villages. So far 60 villages (4,000 families) are on their road in growing vegetables, breeding fish and chicken rearing.
4. Mutual Help Villages model @ Zero Cost to sponsors
This model is based on the mechanism of mutual help among communities relying on the destitute villages own meagre contributions in order to reduce hunger.
This model depends upon the community itself purchasing items and services from Barefoot Entrepreneurs. Only those villages are being taken up which are adjacent to agricultural streams/canals.
The programme has been initiated recently and judging from the response of downtrodden villages, there is great chance of them becoming food secure.
Flood Blogs
Disaster Response Strategies
by Yasmeen Lari
24 March 2023

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Prof. Yasmeen Lari met with His Royal Majesty, King Charles at Commonwealth Day Reception at Buckingham Palace

On Monday 13th March, 2023 CEO Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, Prof. Yasmeen Lari met with His Royal Majesty, King Charles at Commonwealth Day Reception at Buckingham Palace. His Majesty supported her zero carbon initiatives, sustainable buildings and green techniques.

30. Flood Blog by Prof. Yasmeen Lari - Food Security

Cambridge
Having lost everything due to 2022 Flood, millions of families today need food supplies. Due to Government’s non action and slow action of NGOs they are likely to remain shelter-less for a long time. However, I believe with very little investment, we can enable families to begin growing food for their survival.
What is Food Security programme?
At a small charge to households, the various segments are implemented by Barefoot Entrepreneurs belonging to Sponsoring Villages who, at a small charge, provide guidance for making platforms, divide up the village land into areas in order to begin growing fruit trees, vegetables and bushes/grain, and provide training to make mud/lime bricks to make village boundary walls.
What are Sponsoring Villages?
These are Yasmeen Lari’s Zero Carbon villages that have become self sufficient who have agreed to sponsor destitute villages in their vicinity to provide guidance for food security.
What are Dosti Villages?
These are destitute villages who have received no help so far but have now been adopted by Sponsoring Villages to provide guidance and help.
How will Dosti Villages become Food Secure?
Only essential equipment and materials costing Rs. 110,000 are needed to enable 50-70 families in each village to begin growing food.
a. One raised handpump: Rs. 15,000
b. One solar panel: Rs. 40,000
c. 40 bags of lime: Rs. 20,000
d. Maa ka Dastarkhwan (Mothers dining) for 7 days providing cooked food for 90-100 persons to support collective building of village boundary walls: Rs. 35,000
Expert teams of Sponsoring Villages provide guidance and training at a small charge to each family.
How can Dosti Villages be sponsored?
For each village of 50-70 households funds can be sent to Mothers Committees, who will arrange for procurement and disbursement. Heritage Foundation of Pakistan will allocate villages, oversee installation and provide feedback. A link to Google map will be provided which will show progress in each village on a database of Dosti Villages.

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29. Flood Blog by Prof. Yasmeen Lari - Growing food

Cambridge
While at Cambridge, it has been difficult to continue with my blogs in a regular fashion. However, there has been much thought and a great deal of discussion with my team at home. And I am pleased to report that we are being supported fully by communities in moving on in many directions.
The most important development is the seriousness with which the communities have responded and are working hard to plant and grow food for consumption of their families first. But as the produce is growing in quantity, mechanism has to be put in place for collection and sales of these items.
Many steps have been taken in order to make the dry and ostensibly barren land into fertile, food growing area. The one thing that has been bothering me is that in Sindh, we find the landlords orchards flourishing; however, even though village may be in the midst of orchards, nothing would be cultivated there. Either the hari or the farm labour was not encouraged to grow, even though it is the same farm labour that toils to make profit for landlords. It occurred to me that either the villagers never had enough courage to build on what they think is the landlord’s land, or because of the hard crust, they assumed that the land was barren and will not bear any results if plantation was taken up.
As we began to work on the village, we found that in most places, water was available quite easily and the area was conducive to growing produce. On an experimental basis the hard crust was removed to 12”-18’, treated with water and organic compost and we found that indeed the soil below supported growing of vegetables, fruit etc.
Also, while making excavation for a low cost water storage tank at grade, it was found that water was available quite close to the ground surface and as the artisans dug, the water level kept on being maintained. And if we did not line the tank, it would be ideal for breeding small fish. So that is the beginning of small fish breeding by groups of families. And now that the fish are growing well, a process of fish drying has been started so that all surplus fish could be stored or sold.
The solar dehydration of vegetables and fruit, which has been taken up by communities enthusiastically, has shown good results. If organized properly this provides huge opportunities for ensuring food security along with income generation.
Now that the social franchise system is taking root, there would be possibility of extensive sales during off season time for various vegetables and fruit etc.

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Exhibition: Yasmeen Lari - Architecture for the Future

Yasmeen Lari is Pakistan’s first woman architect. She designed iconic modernist buildings before initiating a zero-carbon self-build movement for climate refugees and the landless. This exhibition uses Lari’s oeuvre as an example to show how the relationship of architecture to the future has changed.

Exhibition: Yasmeen Lari - Architecture for the future

Publication: Yasmeen Lari - Architecture for the future

Consul General of Germany H.E. Mr. Rüdiger Lotz and his wife visited Pono Colony along with Senator Nasreen Jalil.

On Thursday, 2nd February, 2023 Consul General of Germany H.E. Mr. Rüdiger Lotz and his wife visited Pono Colony village along with Senator Nasreen Jalil. They enjoyed the village hospitality and local food with great enthusiasm. They highly appreciated Heritage Foundation of Pakistan’s efforts of rehabilitation and development of flood affected communities.

Fabrication and Installation of “Reassembled Masjid” for Islamic Art Biennale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Prof. Yasmeen Lari has designed a “Reassembled Masjid” from prefabricated bamboo panels & roofs, which was fabricated at ZC3, Makli and was shipped to Jeddah to be installed at the venue of Islamic Art Biennale (23 January - 23 April 2023). Project Manager, Mr. Naheem Hussain Shah, Senior Architect, Ashfaq Ahmed & three artisans travelled to IAB venue to supervise the installation of the said Masjid.