Gautampuri Resettlement Colony
The discussion with adolescents in the Gautampuri community took place in two phases, separately with the boys and separately with the girls (due to different school shifts). The adolescents in the community were familiar with the changes which the environment has been undergoing. They had read about climate change and its consequences, as part of their school coursework. However, to build upon their understanding of climate change and help them link it with their everyday experiences in the community, a focus group discussion and arts-based activity were organised. The adolescents were asked to search about climate change on their phones and present their understanding and interpretation of climate change through paintings, poems, or any other creative medium in which they were most interested. The purpose was to de-mystify the scientific jargon associated with climate change and educate them about its long-term harmful effects at the individual, and community level as well as the environment as a whole. The activity was conducted with groups of 15 adolescents and youth in the age group of 16-20 years.
The artwork presented by the adolescents was a detailed reflection of the issue of water in the community. Since the establishment, the residents have been dealing with the issue of water in regard with its availability, quality, and quantity. The increase in population has grown pressure on the consumption of water resources in the community as well as led to water politics. During the activity, some of the adolescents also shared their experiences during days of acute water shortage. As quoted one of the adolescents:
“The issue of water scarcity has been present in the community since the relocation of the community members to the Gautampuri area. Initially, family members used to travel to different areas (Aligaon and Badarpur) to collect water from the water tankers, and the government installed water taps. As the entire community stood in lines, community members used to get in fights with each other over water. It was time-consuming, and stressful to see our family members fighting.”
Ghata Village
Adolescents in the community lacked an understanding of the issue of climate change. There were many questions and doubts that the adolescents asked the facilitators when asked about climate change. It was after the focus-group discussion and screening of a short documentary on climate change and its impact, that they were able to connect the issue of Climate Change with their community and everyday life. FGDs was conducted with groups of 9 adolescents in the age group of 11-19 years.
The visuals in the documentary had a deep impact on the way they perceived the phenomenon of global warming, the colloquial usage for ‘rising temperatures. After a debrief with the adolescents, they presented their understanding of climate change through drawings. However, the facilitator encouraged them to interpret their understanding of climate change through drawings, poems, or any other creative medium they wished to engage with. Through this activity, the adolescents were able to learn about their everyday experiences of water scarcity, drylands, irregular rainfall, and changes in temperatures with climate change.
As Ghata village is situated near the Ghata River, water bodies, and the use of water in the community were something that the adolescents associated the most with. Ghata village doesn’t suffer from water scarcity or waterlogging problems unlike other parts of the city. This is because of the extensive boring of groundwater that is ‘sufficient’ to meet the needs of the families living in the urban informal settlement. Even in the formal settlements in the village, water is not provided by the civic authorities. While drawing their understanding, one of the boys shared his experiences in his hometown in Uttar Pradesh:
“Back in my village in Uttar Pradesh, we never had to use artificial means to extract water from the ground. There were enough wells and ponds to cater to the population there. However, in summer months in North India, even if the ponds dry up, the wells still seem to give water. But I think In Gurugram, there can’t be wells since the groundwater table is receding every year.”
Based on their newly developed understanding, adolescents further facilitated dialogues with the elders in the community and their family members to educate them about climate change.
An arts-based methodology with adolescents was used due to its nature of being engaging and expressive. People from diverse backgrounds – education, language, religion, and class can be engaged using arts-based methodologies. This was the first step of the co-creation process that assisted in bringing together young people from the community. It helped the community to learn about research and climate change and start having conversations within the community.