ENHANCING LIVES

OF THE URBAN POOR
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Celebrating 30 Years Of Success

 

30 years ago, we started with a dream and a vision. Today three decades later, we are celebrating success, growth, and unforgettable moments! We are proud to have played a significant role in transforming the lives of urban poor communities through innovative approaches in housing, sanitation, and data-driven solutions. Pioneering the use of GIS technology for slum mapping, we have empowered over 100,000 households with digital addresses, ensuring dignity, inclusion, and access to essential services. Our “One Home One Toilet” model has improved hygiene and health for over 200,000 individuals, fostering generational behaviour change. By involving communities in participatory housing design and leveraging data to inform urban planning, we have rehabilitated families into secure homes, promoted social and economic mobility, and influenced national housing policies. Our collaborative, holistic approach continues to inspire hope and create sustainable change.

 

Discover More About Our Journey

Focus Areas

Sanitation

Our robust model identifies critical gaps in slum sanitation and facilitates individual toilets to slum dwellers, while creating behavioral change in communities around Wash, waste segregation and menstrual hygiene…Know More

Housing

Not just affordable housing, we ensure land rights and security of tenure while involving communities in designing fully-functional, liveable homes completing the transformation from slums to societies…Know More

Data

We have pioneered the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology for poverty mapping in the late 90’s and use spatial data to improve the delivery of essential services in urban slums.. Know More

OUR Story

A passion to transform the lives of the urban poor drove architect Pratima Joshi and her two friends to lay the foundation of Shelter Associates (SA) 3 decades back. Using the objective strength of data and sensitivity lent by deep community engagement, SA creates a level playing field where multiple stakeholders can easily collaborate to achieve a shared vision of equitable access to essential services. This changes the power dynamic and the communities becomes equal partners in this continuously evolving story of urban development.

Know About Us

Building communities through Mobilization

The urban slum communities are our partners in this journey of ensuring equitable distribution of rights and essential services to all. We engage with them    through a host of educational and empowering developmental activities. Different types of formal and informal activities are conducted that are impacting  individuals of all age groups and genders. Also, innovative IEC Materials are developed to further involve the communities in a fun and engaging way..

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Impact

Slum Houses Surveyed

Home Toilets Facilitated

Individuals Rehabilitated Through Housing

Digital Locational Addresses

Individuals Impacted - Directly & Indirectly

We contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals

Click Here to know more about the 17 SDGs

latest happenings

हम !!

UN Women Coffee Table Book Titled HUM | When Women Lead was unveiled in Delhi. The book featuring SA Founder-Executive Director, Pratima Joshi is Supported by the Ford Foundation. ‘Hum’ shines a spotlight on the journeys of inspiring women leaders throughout India.

Watch the full video here

Shelter Associates Wins Infosys Foundation's Aarohan Social Innovation Award 2023

SA was presented the Aarohan Social Innovation Awards 2023 by Mrs. Sudha Murthy under the Women Empowerment category for our unique data-driven sanitation model called the ‘One Home One Toilet’. We thank our supporters, partners, well-wishers and the communities for their unflinching trust and support. 

Click to watch the video made by Infosys Foundation on SA.

Big WINS for SA!

We are very excited to announce that Shelter Associates has won the SWACHHOTSAV WINS Awards for our sanitation programmes in both Navi Mumbai and Pune Municipal Corporation! The first edition of Women Icons Leading Swacchata(WINS) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to recognise and celebrate the impact of women-led organisations in sanitation and waste management. From leadership to community engagement, our sanitation programmes have been led by strong and passionate women.

SA Founder-Director, Pratima Joshi awarded INDUSEM’s ‘Samajik Abhiyantrik Sanmaan’

INDUSEM award was presented to Ar. Pratima Joshi by Professor Dr. Jonathan Jones, President of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine was the Chief Guest for the event. The award was presented on the occasion of the 19th Annual All India Academic Conclave of Emergency Medicine in August 2023.

testimonials

“Due to my old age, my granddaughter would assist me to the community toilet. I worried for her safety. I am extremely grateful to Shelter Associates who came as a blessing and solved my biggest problem by giving us a toilet at our home.”

- Lata Misal,

Beneficiary from Pune

“The One Home One Toilet model is robust and can be scaled easily to other urban areas within the country. With SA’s and Pune Municipal Corporation’s partnership, we are confident of achieving the targets under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.”

- Kunal Kumar,

Municipal Commissioner of Pune

“Pratima Joshi and Shelter Associates have been one of our amazing NGO partners who have educated us on the social sector space and the importance of data and technology to create social impact. Pratima Joshi is a super inspiring woman and Founder.”

- Donald Lobo,

Founder, Chintu Gudiya Foundation

Videos

Our Partners

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Shelter Associates

SA was founded by architects in 1994 with a passion to ensure equitable access to essential services for the urban poor. SA follows a data-driven, multistakeholder approach to designing and implementing community-centric solutions around sanitation and social housing issues. Know More

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Contact 

 +91 8087607545

   info@shelter-associates.org

    'Kanha', Plot. no. 340, lane no. 18, Mahatma Society, Kothrud, Pune - 411038

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Pramiti Philanthropy Partners

Pramiti has supported us to conduct a citywide social housing research project for Kolhapur city. Later they extended the CSR grant to support the technical team to implement the Bondre Nagar housing project at Kolhapur.

DMI Finance

DMI Has been associated with US since 2018. Initially they supported the facilitation of 150 toilets in Pimpri Chinchwad Muncipal Corporation. Since 2021 they have supported the Bondre Nagar housing project at Kolhapur with both soft and hard support. The CSR heads have visited many of our projects over the years and have been a strong supporter of our initiatives.

Tata Trust

Tata trust has supported our efforts of designing and monitoring the implementation of citywide housing project in Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation from 2008 to 2015 where almost 1500 tenements were facilitated over 6 sites. Of late they are also supporting the citywide mapping of a few Nagar Panchayats in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Sun Vacuum Formers Private Ltd. and TRW Sun Steering Wheels Pvt. Ltd

Sunvac and Sun Steering have provided support to our OHOT program since 2016. Over the last 8 years we have facilitated over 1500 home toilets with their funding support in Pune and PCMC slum communities.

UNICEF

UNICEF provided invaluable support during the COVID-19 pandemic by funding the development of sanitation-related communication materials and a vaccination project. They also facilitated workshops on mental health for volunteers and stakeholders, ensuring their well-being and resilience during challenging times.

Bank of America and HT Parekh Foundation

Our partnership with Bank of America enabled us to expand our reach to new cities, including Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Panvel, by providing crucial funding for this growth. Similarly, the funding support from HT Parekh Foundation helped us to establish our footprint in Kolhapur.

Chintoo Gudiya Foundation

The foundation of our data practice was established with the support of the Chintu Gudiya Foundation, which played a crucial role in developing our initial technology framework for data collection, visualization, and reporting. The three-stage technology solution began with KoBoToolbox for creating survey forms and capturing data. The data collected was then integrated with GIS and overlaid on Google Maps. Finally, BIRT (Business Intelligence and Reporting Tool) was utilized to generate detailed visualizations and reports at both the individual toilet and slum levels.

Google

We leverage Google Earth Pro to map slums with precision. Using satellite base maps from Google Earth, we annotate each house, along with the slum's existing infrastructure and access to essential services such as toilets, running water, and waste disposal for individual households. These detailed maps highlight infrastructure gaps, enabling us to identify developmental needs, plan and implement targeted actions, and effectively showcase progress over time. In addition, we have used Google’s Plus Codes technology to effectively provide unique addresses that are navigable on Google Maps to slum households.

Dasra

We were honored to be selected for the Dasra Giving Circle on Urban Sanitation in India, a program that supports high-impact NGOs by providing funding and advisory assistance in areas such as management, finance, human resources, and program development.

UCAN Founding Member

As a founding member of U-CAN (Urban Collective Action Network), we are committed to fostering collaboration among individuals, communities, policymakers, and state agencies in Tier II and Tier III Indian cities. U-CAN provides a safe platform for open dialogue and problem-solving, aiming to enhance urban governance and create a richer livable urban experience.

Policy Papers

Types of Government Education Presentation in Black and White Illustrative Style - 1

We have published policy papers as follows

  1. Sanitation: Published policy paper comparing the Swachh Bharat Mission’s model with our One Home One Toilet (OHOT) model
  2. Housing: Published housing policy paper focusing on Beneficiary Led Construction vertical of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U)

Digital Addressing

We have successfully delivered Digital addresses using Google’s Plus Code technology to over 100,000 slum households across four cities in Maharashtra. These unique alphanumeric addresses, navigable via Google Maps, enable even the most remote residents to seamlessly access essential services such as postal delivery, emergency assistance, gas cylinders, and other online services.

OHOT Tool Kit

Our free and open source OHOT Toolkit is a collection of tools, information and procedures to help other non-governmental organizations, facilitators, sponsors and local govts can replicate the model in informal settlements. Find the OHOT Tool Kit here - https://shelter-associates.org/media/

1st City Wide Housing Project In Sangli

As consultants for the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) in Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, we introduced innovative approaches to participatory slum surveying, GIS-based spatial data mapping, participatory housing planning, cooperative tenure structures, and a citywide strategy for delivering housing—moving beyond the traditional project-by-project approach. This forward-thinking methodology later influenced government policy under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), which mandated cities to map their underprivileged communities using GIS and remote sensing technologies.

Collaborative Model For Home Toilets In Slums

Our three-pronged One Home One Toilet (OHOT) model leverages spatial data to pinpoint critical gaps in sanitation services. It collaborates with Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to lay or repair drainage lines and mobilizes communities to adopt improved hygiene and sanitation practices. Toilets are constructed through a joint effort, where we provide the raw materials, and families contribute to the construction costs, fostering ownership and sustainability. We have facilitated the construction of more than 28000 toilets, impacting the health & living conditions of more than 2 lakh individuals.

Data System For Urban Local Bodies

In addition to co-creating data in collaboration with communities and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), we democratized our data by making it publicly accessible. It is uploaded to our data portal on our website for public viewership and linked to the websites of partnering ULBs. Sharing this data in the public domain has enhanced its utility and impact, fostering broader accessibility and informed decision-making. Our analysis has served as a critical foundation for planning, monitoring, tracking, and implementing developmental initiatives.

Beneficiary Led Housing For Slum Redevelopment

We implemented a unique approach to slum redevelopment by involving the community in an inclusive design & development process and innovation based on data. As a result, we have successfully rehabilitated 9000 individuals from vulnerable slums into better living conditions in our three major projects in Pune and Sangli-Miraj. Our ongoing slum redevelopment housing project in Kolhapur is the only slum redevelopment project being implemented under the Beneficiary Led Construction vertical of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna in Maharashtra.

GIS Mapping Of Slums

Recognizing the gap between existing slum data and ground realities, in the late 1990s, we pioneered the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and Google Earth for poverty mapping. By mapping settlement patterns & infrastructure in and around each target slum, we have generated granular spatial data that is further enriched with household-level survey data. To ensure accuracy and legitimacy, the data has also been validated with the Municipalities we partner with. This data is being used to identify the most vulnerable populations and plan targeted interventions.