Pratima Joshi

Pratima Joshi is one of the founding members of Shelter Associates (SA) and has been working in SA since its inception in 1993. She received an Aga Khan scholarship in 1986-87 and completed her Masters Degree in ‘Building Design for Developing Countries’ at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, London. In October 2005, the BBC identified her as one of the leading Slum architects of India and did a feature on her for their ‘India Week” which was launched on their website. In 2006, she has been the recipient of the Ashoka Fellowship in recognition of her work as a Social Entrepreneur. ‘The Strait Times’, Singapore under their series -New Asian Heroes in 2008, featured her.

Within SA, Pratima has worked intensively to co-ordinate all projects that have been undertaken since its inception in 1993 ranging from actual implementation of housing and sanitation projects to Poverty Mapping and related Research projects.

In 2009, Pratima was appointed principle co-ordinator on behalf of SA, which was appointed by SMKMC to prepare a DPR for rehabilitation of 29 slums comprising almost 50% of Sangli’s poor using a citywide approach under the IHSDP programme of the Central Ministry. The JNNURM committee approved this project in February as a special case for its robust citywide approach. SA is now working with the SMKMC on the rehabilitation of these slum pockets.