Environment and Builtform - Chilika Lake
Introduction
The environment is viewed as an external entity outside of the human realm, consisting of non-human phenomena such as air, water and light. The focus in this study was to understand the environment as an invisible infrastructure that alters human livelihood, just as human activity impacts these natural forces. This research was conducted as a part of a two week study, and focuses on the question of the overlapping of different intensities of life, living conditions, and non-human forces in the setting of a brackish water lagoon. We dwelled into reading the human- non human life forms that emerge in Berhampur district, an island in the Chilika Lake.
Chilika lake, located towards the east of India in Odisha, forms the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia, with a span of about 1164 sq km. The geomorphology, water quality and biological productivity of the lake has undergone significant changes over the years under the influence of natural events such as the cyclones and anthropogenic interventions of widening the lake mouth.The ecological changes of the lake system and its fisheries were influenced mainly by the water
exchange between the lake and the sea that controls the salinity, siltation, and the sedimentation within the lake.
In order to improve the health of the lagoon and restoration of its biodiversity, a new mouth was dredged open in September 2000. But, the residents claim that the problems associated with the lake ecology and its contribution to the socio-economic development of the island still persist resulting in a drastic decrease in the fish catch and the sedimentation around the island edges.
We studied two villages on the island- Mainsha and Berhampur. About 60% of the families on the island make their living from fishing or from vending fishes, while the remaining practice agriculture, farming and cattle rearing. The caste dynamics of the two villages dictate who fishes in the marked boundary allotted to the village for the month. The Kaibartas, from Mainsha, are the fisherfolks, also referred to as Keutas, while the Khotiyas of Berhampur, are the fish vendors. Castes such as Brahmin, Baniya, Nhai, Dhobi and Mali exist in minorities on island and practice farming, cattle rearing or participate in manual labour through the day.
The coming generations on the island are seen migrating to larger cities like Puri, Satapada and Bhuvaneshwar in search of jobs.
The islanders talk about a stark shift in the economy of the residents with respect to an occupational shift towards tourism due to the decrease in the amount of fish caught from the lake.
We studied a sample set of 10 households, 5 in Mainsha and 5 in Behrampur to understand their dependence upon the ecology of the island. A study of the family demographic was done with respect to the land distribution to understand the operations of the household. Each household was analysed spatially to look at adaptations made due to the forces of the island and the family’s economic structure.
While studying the forces of the settling terrain, life spaces of inhabitants, tidal flows, and the material practices that adapt to the landscape and built environment, we split into four groups: weather, settlements, landscape/urban form and the daily rhythms. The weather study aims at opening up the question of how changes in the weather shape ​
transformations in land/ water edge/ builtform and ​
livelihood. Similarly the settlement study tries to understand how the changes in socio-natural forces shape transformations in the builtform? The understanding of the landscape establishes the morphology of the island in terms of the coastline, forestry, aquaculture and farming while tracing the daily rhythms of humans and cattles string these forces together thereby trying to establish a clear relationship between the ecology of the island and its inhabitants.
Drawings from our fieldwork on the island of Chilika Lake, aim to look at humans, builtform and the environment as entities that weave into one another, impacting their adaptations while being responsive, and not devoid of each other. The studio centrally asks the question to understand the relationship between the environment and the builtform.
Regional context of Chilika
Location of study
Behrampur island
Chilika Lake
Rajhans island
