राहत (Rahat) : Women-led Responsive Action for Heat AdapTation
RAHAT, meaning respite in Hindi, is an action-oriented research project focused on mitigating extreme heat stress in the slums of Jodhpur, western India—an area increasingly vulnerable to climate-induced temperature rise. The project aims to co-develop women-led housing design strategies that passively cool indoor environments, ensuring they are contextually relevant, affordable, and socially acceptable within economically disadvantaged settings.
Using a randomised control trial (RCT) approach, RAHAT integrates community engagement and participatory design to assess the effectiveness, adoption, and livelihood potential of these design interventions. By embedding women at the core of the process—as knowledge holders, decision-makers, and implementers—the project seeks to surface and challenge gendered dimensions of heat vulnerability.
Beyond generating scalable design solutions, RAHAT strives to empower women as climate adaptation leaders, raise awareness of heat-health inequalities, and build local capacities for resilient urban living.
Research Team
| Principal investigator | Dr Ronita Bardhan | |
| Co Investigator | Dr Ramit Debnath | |
| Co Investigator | Professor Jaideep Prabhu | |
| Researcher Assistant | Haiwei Li | |
| India Research Associate | Dr Kanchan Sen Sharma | |
| Project Administrator | Mutsuko Grant | |
| Partners | Mahila Housing Trust | |
| Natural Resources Defense Council india | ||
| Animator | MALI's Cartoons |
