https://reasonstobecheerful.world/india-cool-roofs-home-based-workers/
"During the scorching midday heat in Behrampura, a slum in the Indian city of
Ahmedabad, it can be difficult to breathe, let alone get any work done.
Throughout the summer, peak daytime temperatures often exceed 38C (100F).
Crowded and cramped housing, a lack of ventilation and the prevalence of cheap,
heat-trapping materials such as metal roofs magnify that heat to even more
unbearable levels.
“The heat has been going up and up,” says Dilshadbanu Mohammed Jhilani Shaikh,
a mother of four living in a shack in Behrampura. “It gets so bad that you just
can’t do anything, not even move. You’re so drained of energy.”
On May 19, 2016, Ahmedabad recorded a maximum temperature of 48.4C (119F), its
hottest day in a century. That year, Shaikh decided to take action against the
heat. She invested 120,000 rupees (USD$1,584) in a cool-roof technology module,
borrowing the money from Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHST), an Indian nonprofit
that works with grassroots collectives of women in the informal sector to
improve their housing, living and working environments.
The roofs can help prevent heat-related deaths, a major problem in places like
India — during that 2016 heatwave, dozens of deaths were reported by the city’s
hospitals. But they can also combat a less visible, more pernicious effect: the
slow-burn impact of extreme heat that leaves people tired, sick and sleepless,
making it harder for them to study or work. The International Labor
Organization projects that India will lose the equivalent of 34 million
full-time jobs in 2030 due to heat stress alone."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
