Nostos Homes

The objective of the Elevate Prize to amplify social good and drive change through global collaboration resonated with my vision and work at Nostos Homes, where we work with the most vulnerable communities across the globe. Being selected for this prize would mean Nostos Homes would be able to provide a safe living space for these people, offering them a shot at a stable and dignified life. 

A $300,000 funding would be used to build 150 Nostos Homes, which would provide housing for approximately 5 Million people nights. These homes would be deployed across India, in regions affected by cyclones and floods. Our volunteer-run model allows us to operate on very low overheads, ensuring that we can maximise the use of these funds directly in providing homes.  

Every dollar invested in a Nostos Home translates into 14 dollars of impact. This includes the positive impacts of having a roof over your head, like continued education and employment, mental health benefits, and reduced discrimination and violence. Each Nostos Unit provides more than 32,400 nights of shelter. The durability that Nostos Homes provide is calculated to lead to a 60% reduction in injuries from diseases or hazards.

When I was 7 years old, I used to live near the banks of river Suvarna in India, growing up close to a marginalised community of farmers who were forced to live in survival mode on the floodplains. 

Every year in June, when it started raining, the river rose by over six meters, destroyed their crops and washed away their homes made out of mud. Post the disaster, these families were left stranded and the loss of their home had a ripple effect that impacted their employment, their kids’ education, and their family’s health. 

This cycle of survival mode living added with economic and social marginalisation continued year on year. I wish to change all of that with Nostos Homes, the first-of-its-kind sustainable emergency shelters for marginalised communities displaced due to violence or natural disaster. These shelters are modular, light-weight, and can easily be transported to affected regions at scale. Nostos Homes provides more than just a roof over these people’s heads, and addresses the needs and concerns of the forcibly displaced.  Each unit houses a family and aims to restore privacy, personal dignity and safety in times of crises.

In India, 5 million people are forcibly displaced every year due to disasters, and an additional 19,000 people are displaced due to violent conflict. Globally, about 79.5 million people are forcibly displaced annually and face the realities that deny them a dignified life. Currently they are left stranded in transient community shelters till aid agencies create new homes for them - a process which oftens takes more than 2-3 years. In this process, they might also have lost family members and possessions, often leading to deep trauma and depression. Lack of stability, and security during these vulnerable times has a devastating ripple effect which impacts the health, education, and employment of the individual. Nostos Homes is the first-of-its-kind innovative temporary shelter to house people immediately after a disaster or in the intermediate term. These shelters are modular, light-weight, and can easily be transported to affected regions. 

Nostos revolves around the idea of delivering the “whole package” - including living spaces and solar panels - in a unit that can be assembled in few hours with no specialised tools or training. Each unit houses a single family and this aims to restore privacy, personal dignity and safety in times of crises.

Traditional emergency shelters provide community housing without any means for the residents to access privacy, psychological or physical safety. In this period, lack of proper housing exposes them to diseases and hazards, and the lack of safety and privacy leads to discontinued education and employment. The most common type of emergency shelters are canvas tents, but they are very transient structures and are not durable. Water leakages are common and it also lasts only for 1-2 years. A single nostos unit houses an individual family and this gives them a significantly increased amount of privacy and both physical and psychological safety. The durability and sanitation that Nostos Homes provides leads to a 60% reduction in diseases or hazards, while the privacy and psychological safety provided leads to a 20% increase in continuation of education and employment. We deliver this impact for roughly the same cost per person/night as canvas tents. Nostos Homes can be transported in standard trucks very easily as a flatpack The assembly system of a Nostos Home is also particularly innovative, and allows the home to be clicked into place in a few hours by 4 people with no specialised tools or training.

Millions of forcibly displaced people across the globe live bleak lives in makeshift housing setups that deny them dignity or fulfilment of opportunities. If given a Nostos Home, they will have access to a safe, and private home that can provide the necessary stability to return to jobs, and schools. This offers them an invaluable shot at regaining self-sustenance and mental health, during a deeply vulnerable time. 

We are currently building the world’s first Nostos community in Karnataka, where I first witnessed forcible displacement. As part of our 2021-2022 strategy, we aim to build 100+ Nostos units in various states affected by cyclones or floods, eventually providing upwards of 1.5 million people nights of housing. For this, we are in the process of building partnerships with aid agencies and government disaster management authorities. 

To maximise our impact, we have spoken to multiple experts within the field of non-profit management, fundraising, and manufacturing. To offer this impact at lowest possible costs, we have selected our vendors through a competitive bidding process. Our volunteer-run model allows us to operate on very low overheads, ensuring that we can use maximise the lives we shelter using our funds.