AHRC Filming Energy Research Network (FERN)

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The ‘Filming Energy’ (FERN) Research Network brings together researchers, policy makers, NGOs and communities involved in the design and delivery of new transitional housing in India and South Africa.

This project used short documentary films as a method to understand domestic practices and energy demand in low income housing. The films were used to communicate the occupants’ daily realities to policy makers and professionals involved in the design and delivery of the new housing and energy infrastructure.

The films were screened in workshops on “Urban Health, Housing and Climate Change” hosted by NGO partner Doctors For You (DFY) in Mumbai on 12 September 2022 and “Transitional Housing in South Africa” hosted by NGO partner Development Action Group (DAG) in Johannesburg on 26-27 May 2022.

Examples of our participatory film-making in Cape Town and Mumbai. You can read more on the findings at ‘From informal to formal: Understanding gendered energy transitions through filmmaking in Cape Town and Mumbai’ and ‘Moments in Pickwick: Opening a window into Women’s lived experiences of transitional housing through participatory filmmaking’.

Funded by AHRC GCRF Research Network Grant.

You can read more about FERN follow-up (2023-24) here: The AHRC IAA Community engagement workshops on housing and energy in Nairobi.

Principal Investigator: Professor Minna Sunikka-Blank, University of Cambridge

Co-Investigator: Dr Ronita Bardhan, University of Cambridge

Research Partners: Doctors For You, Development Action Group, The City of Cape Town, Miradi Architects