The built heritage at Kumati- The longest Bakhli is not just a piece of architecture but also a symbol of community living emphasizing the importance of interdependence and coexistence. With our increasingly fragmented and nuclear lifestyle, the proposal aims to give a glance of the past and its rich legacy. This project is centered around a collective community effort, their traditional activities, handicrafts, agriculture, landscape and much more. With a holistic approach that promotes conscious tourism, rejuvenates handicrafts, revives empty agricultural lands, the project also promotes reverse migration, making the youth aware of what they have and generating economy for the region through multiple ways.
Bakhli at Kumati will be developed as a Market street with workshops and design stores involved in local handicrafts. Diverse activities like eating local food, buying handicrafts, ambient local folk music, engaging with the local community will create a live market space. A part of the Bakhli will be converted into an interactive museum which will talk about Kumati, its’s heritage and the idea of community living in a Bakhli.
A second Bakhli is designed to house rooms and dormitories for the tourists.The room types will allow a short luxurious stay as well as a prolonged budget stay. Prolonged budget stay will support different kinds of volunteering experiences at Kumati which can benefit the individual as well as the village produce. Like the past days, some portions of the Bakhli will also house cow shelters to promote animal husbandry and agricultural activities.
