Design Jatra

Design Jatra is a socio-architectural practice that takes inspiration from traditional architecture and experiments to evolve it to today’s needs. It emphasizes on the engagement of local communities, all the while using the kind of natural materials that are more responsive to those local contexts. This not only re-energizes the communities but also helps in sensitizing the stakeholders involved in such processes. This, at times, also promotes the regeneration of natural resources. Design Jatra runs a social enterprise under the name of Tokar in the tribal village at Murbad, Dahanu — where small bamboo products are manufactured by the local tribal community. Along with this, the Jatra has taken the initiative of local rice seed banking and seed exchange with the help of tribal youth and many student volunteers. Design Jatra has constantly gone through metamorphoses because of the many interactions as well as brainstorming workshops with students of varied backgrounds. Conducting several architectural workshops in traditional natural materials along with summer volunteering workshops is something that the Jatra actively involves itself in. Design Jatra as an architectural initiative began in 2013. Roaming through rural Maharashtra only to realize that traditional built forms were being replaced with insensitive buildings, we were led to an on-ground understanding of the many problems, ranging from broken rural communities to urban migration. As a response to these issues, Design Jatra aims at strengthening rural communities, and helps them reinstate their pride in their own technologies, context, skills and materials. At the same time, it also aims at facilitating the urban-rural dialogue. The large team of Design Jatra comprises of architects, artisans and craftsmen, volunteers, architecture students as well as many loving communities. The growth of Jatra is a dedication to all the people who inspire it to continue on this path.