Project Description

Weaving Life: A Community Canvas for Kaundia

Kaundia, an island embraced by the Turag and Kornotoli rivers in Bangladesh, is home to the Bede (river gypsies) and Jele (fishermen) communities, whose lives are deeply interwoven with water. Their craft — weaving fishing nets — is not only a livelihood but a living art form, rich in skill, memory, and identity. 

Our proposal reimagines a healing space that celebrates and strengthens this way of life by creating a modular, bamboo-based infrastructure. These lightweight structures, designed for dismantling and reassembly, are built by us but transformed by the community. Using their own artistry, they can weave fishnet patterns into walls, create shaded play spaces for children, or design communal seating — all from locally available, familiar materials.

This is not a static building, but a shared canvas. It is a place to live, work, and play — adaptable to changing needs, seasonal rhythms, and cultural rituals. It restores dignity by giving formal recognition to their craft, fosters resilience through local material use, and nurtures social bonds by inviting collaboration in shaping the space. Healing here emerges on two levels: for people, by enabling self-expression and comfort; and for the community, by creating a gathering place deeply rooted in their identity and traditions. 

This project does not impose a finished form — it offers a framework for stories, skills, and lives to weave themselves into the architecture, just as nets are woven to embrace the rivers that sustain Kaundia.