India’s northeastern state of Assam is the most vulnerable and impacted by climate change in the country, due to flash floods and erosion.  Mising, the second largest tribe of the state are amongst the worst affected due to their settlement at the banks of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries. However, they manage to survive in their unique and traditional flood-resilient houses called Chang Ghar in Assamese, perched above the ground on bamboo stilts. Global Program has been giving awareness on strengthening the structure of Chang Ghar in all the program villages.

The word “mising” means man (mi) of the water (asi), and those who live on the mainland call them “river people.” As they live on low land near the river, the Mishing’s homes can easily be inundated during tides or swept away by floods.

SIRKALI revenue village is a Global Program India village under Women Development Centre in Dhemaji district Assam.  It is located on the bank of the river “Sissinoi” in Maskhowa Block Dhemaji District. There are 139 households with a total population of 640 people.  All 139 households’ houses were stilted by bamboo or cement pillar to keep themselves safe from the flood. The pattern of the house is simply like the letter ‘I.’  It has a wooden ladder locally called a Jokhola that leads to the raised entrance of the house.

These houses are classical models of adaptation and resilient houses constructed using locally available resources. These elevated houses serve a dual purpose, people live in the elevated bamboo house and livestock are kept in the bay. The elevation of the houses changes with the last flood water level, the higher the flood level more elevated the houses. A perfect example of a traditional coping mechanism.  Every Mising house has certain key layers from the roof to the floor and serves a special purpose like fireplace, keeping food items at different levels. Almost every chang ghar has a boat which they use during the flood for commuting and transport.

Chang Ghar, however, is a special survival strategy of the Mising community only. The Global Program team is working to replicate the best practices of Chang Ghar housing model and comping mechanism in different flood-prone areas in the country.