Often shelter relief itself is prefabricated and uniform for use all over the world, regardless of climate, culture and personal needs and the material is imported. Moreover, taking into account broader terms, the economy of an affected country is not considered. These facts may bring along various difficulties that hinder effective shelter support. In the following two important dimensions in connection with effective shelter support and reconstruction are described and it is explained why they are important: Participation of local communities and affected people: When a community feels reliant on an outsider, the impression and self respect felt diminishes in many cases. It has been seen to be more suitable and fruitful to have local input and participation when evaluating conditions pertaining to a community. This form of involvement provides the community with the sense of ownership and affiliation not afforded by manufactured shelter from outside organisations. It is expected for a person to feel more comforted living in an albeit makeshift shelter, as long as it is constructed with some form of personal involvement.

There have been many cases where inappropriate construction of shelters by agencies has been left unoccupied thus wasting resources and time. It is important to ensure the newly constructed form of shelter is appropriate and takes into account the cultural, religious and/or gender sensitivities of the area. For example in a religious society such as Kashmiri Muslims, the males and females tend to be segregated and so require separate rooms, but many emergency shelters constructed by agencies are a one room occupancy style structure. There have been many examples of when one room structures were built but remained unoccupied as men and women could not share and live in a single room.

The participation of affected people and local communities not only avoids culturally and ethically inappropriate shelter construction, but also provides a measure to encourage local coping mechanisms and local capacity and can make the habitants feel more at home in their new shelters, as well as develop their skills to design and manage the construction of safe shelter in the future.

Consequently, the inclusion of the affected population and the consideration of their personal needs are of utmost importance in order to meet personal needs.

In general, who should be involved and thus be enabled to participate in the shelter relief process is shown in Table 2: Sustainable reconstruction - Material The selection of the material for constructing shelter represents a very important point in terms of effectiveness and sustainability of the shelter. With respect to the selection process of the material used, the inclusion of the affected people and a proper debate is essential. They are supposed to provide knowledge about local material available for building as well as information about their specific needs. Local availability of material eases the procurement in terms of accessibility and time, compared to the use of imported material. It also helps to save costs, is easier to maintain and has the advantage of encouraging the local economy. When choosing the appropriate material for shelter construction the climate should be considered as well. Standardised tents or other types of shelter that were not winterised were not useful in the case of Kashmir, where the winter set in and the temperatures started to fall. The material chosen also had to resist the weight of snow. Thus, adaptation to local conditions is crucial.

Additionally, the possible hazards of future disasters have to be taken into account, when deciding on certain types of materials. For example, the Kashmir Region lies in a high to very high risk zone of seismological activity. The prevailing high risk of earthquakes was therefore considered in the type of material used for building the new houses, in order to keep the potential destruction from future earthquakes as low as possible.

References and further information on this topic: • ALNAP (2003). Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action. Participation by Crisis-Affected Populations in Humanitarian Action. A Handbook for Practitioners • ALNAP (2005) Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action. South Asia Earthquake 2005. Learning from Previous Recovery Operations. www.alnap.org, www.proventionconsortium.org • Twigg, John (2002/2006). Technology, Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction and Livelihood Security. Benfield Hazard Research Centre. Disaster Studies Working Paper No. 15 • World Housing Encyclopaedia. http://world-housing.net • Construction Manual for Earthquake resistant Houses built of Earth´. www2.gtz.de/Basin/publications/books/ManualMinke.pdf

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