Traditional practices, communities’ aspirations, and reconstructed end products: Analyzing the post-sidr reconstruction in the Coastal Region of Bangladesh

Abstract

Traditional practices derived from indigenous knowledge often fail to get attention in the process of externally supported interventions in any community. This chapter intends to investigate the reconstruction of houses as an external intervention, conducted after the cyclone Sidr in the coastal area of Bangladesh. The usual response from the Government as well as different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a post-cyclone scenario is to aid with rebuilding or repairing houses following a ‘built back better’ approach focusing on enhancing resilience and reducing risks. Such a multi-agency intervention usually fails to appreciate the traditional practices and indigenous knowledge of the communities and it possesses the risk of resulting inappropriate settlements degrading coastal landscape and cultural heritage. This chapter aims to analyze cultural elements of the affected coastal settlements in general and evaluates the post-Sidr assisted reconstruction interventions in the backdrop of the age-old culture of constructing houses and settlements. Sharankhola, a sub-district in the south-western coastal region of Bangladeash and one of the most intervened areas after the cyclone Sidr, is selected as the study area of this research. Observations, focus group discussions, and household surveys in the study area were conducted to investigate users’ feedback and consciousness about practicing traditional culture and the outcome of reconstructed products. This chapter reaffirms the fact that traditional wisdom and technologies are rarely considered, putting those at risks of being degraded and lost.