This community-led project is a collaboration between urbz and the indigenous fishers, the Kolis, in one of the densest settlements in the world, Dharavi, Mumbai.

For the Kolis, the waters symbolise a sacred relationship with the environment. They commemorate nature by celebrating festivals such as Naralli Purnima, where every monsoon, on a full moon day, they renew their pledge to protect their habitat. 

The project includes the regeneration of fishing grounds, which remain important to Koli identity. It unites their livelihood concerns with an ecological imagination that grows from their collective, ancestral knowledge and expertise. The intimate interaction with the estuary has also made the community a vanguard of climate adaptation. The project hopes to transform a stressed ecology by re-establishing a connection to the sacred waters.  

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The 14th International Architecture Biennale in São Paulo, showcased the efforts of local communities, architects and urban planners working on a diverse scale and range of projects addressing the impacts of an overheated planet.