In the northeast of Bangladesh, residents living along the Jamuna River face a relentless cycle of environmental upheaval. Every rainy season, severe flooding routinely invades homes and wipes out crops, turning daily life into a struggle for survival.
For families in these areas of low-lying sand beds, locally known as char areas, land is affordable but highly vulnerable. Rebuilding after each monsoon has historically been an exhausting requirement.
However, Mongabay’s Lucia Torres reports in a recent video that an innovative architectural design is helping to ease the struggle.
Khandoker Mohammad Bulbul, a newly married farmer who recently moved to the region, explains the economic reality of living in such a high-risk area. “I can buy seven or eight times more land here because the land price is very low in char areas,” he tells Mongabay. However, the trade-off for that affordability is constant danger: during floods, Bulbul says, “water enters our house. Sometimes it comes up to our waist.”
To break this cycle, architects from Dhaka are collaborating with rural communities to build Khudi Bari, or tiny houses, designed to withstand climate extremes. These simple, flood-resistant structures are engineered to respond to the region’s shifting topography and the constant threat of river erosion.
The Khudi Bari concept offers two distinct advantages for river-basin communities. First, the dwellings are elevated off the ground, protecting families and food supplies during high water. Second, because the flooding rivers constantly change the topography of the area, the houses are designed to be easily relocated when solid ground disappears.
“During floods it can play a vital role,” says Arman Abaedin, architect and project coordinator of this project. “They dismantle or move the house when the chars or the sand beds are moving.”
Lead architect Marina Tabassum tells Mongabay she wants to empower local residents with climate-responsive architecture. “Our idea was that we want to transfer the knowledge to local people. So that they don’t need us anymore. They can build it themselves,” she says.
The impact of this knowledge transfer is already visible on the ground. In the char within Jamalpur, a district along the Jamuna River, 18 Khudi Bari homes were constructed in 2022; by early 2026, five additional houses were being built entirely by the villagers.
“The carpenter showed us, and we learned. Now we can do it ourselves,” Bulbul says.
While architects provide some materials, the community members must source the wood and bamboo for construction and complete the final assembly.
Bulbul expresses a deep sense of pride in the process. “I’m building my own house, with my hard work, without begging anyone,” he says.
Bulbul and his neighbors aim to finish construction before the monsoon rains arrive. “We’re trying our best to finish it before the flood comes. I feel great about this,” Bulbul says.
Watch the video by Lucia Torres here.
Banner image of a Khudi Bari built by residents living along the Jamuna River. Image courtesy of Tabassaum Studio.
Credits
