Designing Places Through Co-creation in Communities

Imagine diving into a hands-on learning experience that blended community engagement, design, and real-world problem-solving. This is what POCAA (Platform of Community Action and Architecture) offered during their 10-day session in Jhenaidah from February 29th to March 9th, 2024. This event, held in collaboration with Co.Creation.Architects and the Grambangla Unnayan Committee, and supported by Urbamonde and the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), aimed to address and solve local community issues through a participatory approach.

Participants from various background from all over the country, came together to work with the residents of Kolabagan community in Jhenaidah, who were already designing their neighborhood. The local wisdom from residents and professional expertise from participants evolved through many workshops, informal conversations and observations. Through interactive sessions with the community, specially with the women and children – participants learned co-creation practices and mapped potential solutions to create safer, more vibrant spaces. As there are bright examples of community-led housing and infrastructure development in Jhenaidah, participants visited those and learned from community women leaders about the challenges and joy of such an approach. Various online and physical sharing sessions were arranged to broaden the perspective and gain deeper insights to community architecture.

At the end of the course there was a community exhibition showcasing maps, models, and possibilities for the future. The event showed the power of working “with” people rather than working “for” people – aiming to inspire collective approaches with communities for a better future in Jhenaidah and beyond.