Devising local coping mechanisms and adaptation technologies to build climate-resilience capacities of urban poor in South Asia

Empowering women from slums in South Asian cities

Lead organisation: Manila Housing SEWA Trust

Local partners

  • HomeNet South Asia
  • Centre for Environment Education
  • Indian Institute of Public Health (Gandhinagar)
  • SELCO Solar Light Pvt Ltd
  • Urban Management Centre
  • Development Alternatives
  • Vandemataram Projects Private Limited

International partners

  • Freie Universistat Berlin,
  • Georgia Institute of Technology

Mahila Housing SEWA Trust received funding to empower women from slums in seven South Asian cities to take action against the most pressing climate-related risks facing their communities: heat waves, flooding, water scarcity; and water and vector borne diseases. Through the improved availability of real-time micro data, the team could equip the urban poor with the tools and know-how to undertake vulnerability and risk assessments and implement their own resilience plans. Utilizing a network of woman advocates, they could empower these communities to influence city planning so that their cities adopt adaptation and resilience actions that reflect a pro-poor agenda. Click here to download the solution statement.

Key Achievements:

  • MHT’s scaling achievements included support to 135 539 people, bringing the total number of people supported to 270,000.
  • MHT provided training and support to 102 women to become entrepreneurs of renewable energy products. 
  • Over 35,000 people adopted risk-reducing technologies. 
  • MHT fostered multi-stakeholder partnerships in 7 cities, and influenced local and national government initiatives. 
  • Stakeholder engagement and policy support resulted in shifts in perceptions on gender roles.
  • Mahila was recognized as a key stakeholder in the 2017 Ahmedabad city-level Heat Action Plan and won the Delhi Urban Labs Challenge to replicate efforts on heat resilience in Delhi.