Shelter is the most pressing need of the present times.
Strategies to satisfy this need are urgently needed, particularly for
the rural poor. Since eighty percent of the Indian population lives in
the rural areas, the author tries to identify their demand for better
houses and the required improvements in construction technology in rural
India. This study is the result of a joint project of two institutes,
i.e., Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Wissenschaftszentrum
Berlin für Sozialforschung (Social Science Research Centre, Berlin)
(WZB), based on a survey conducted in Tamil Nadu, India. The majority of
the rural population covered by this study are landless labourers. The
survey covered 300 households in 20 selected villages where 71 percent
of the respondents were living in traditional katcha houses made of mud,
bamboo, and palm leaves. The study concentrates on the poorest strata of
rural society and collects information about socioeconomic properties
such as income, occupation, education, energy, and water sources used by
the respondents. The respondents were asked during the survey to reveal
the household preferences for more living space, privacy, ownership, and
availability of public services like piped water, electricity, sewerage
system, etc. The analysis is based on 291 (out of 300) questionnaires
(households schedule).
