Open the Door

Climate Resilient Housing: Co-Designing with Community and Tackling the Funding Gap

In this episode of Habitat for Humanity International’s “Open the Door,” moderator Aaron Opdyke, an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and Disaster Risk Management Specialist with the GFDRR/World Bank, is joined by Sanjeev Hada, Associate Director, Program Operations Asia-Pacific at Habitat for Humanity, and Ngoc Anh Chu Thi, “Kiu,” an architect with Think Playgrounds and a 2025 Habitat Youth Solutions winner.  Together, they explore what it takes to make housing more resilient to the impacts of climate change across Asia and the Pacific. They discuss why housing remains underfunded despite its wider social and economic benefits, what “climate-resilient housing” looks like in practice, and why community participation and localized design matter. Kiu shares her experience co-designing floating homes with a vulnerable community along Hanoi’s Red River, using local materials, natural cooling techniques, and repair training. Sanjeev reflects on the challenges posed by short donor funding cycles challenges, the need for stronger evidence of impact, and the range of approaches available to communities, from retrofitting existing homes to and relocation where necessary.

Chapters

00:00 Podcast Introduction

Sources/References

Habitat for Humanity, 2026. Youth Assembly Event Report. https://www.habitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/2025_Habitat_Youth_Assembly_Event_Report.pdf 

About the Moderator and Speakers

Aaron Opdyke is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering at the University of Sydney. He holds a role at the World Bank working on disaster risk management. His work combines data analytics with community-centered approaches to disaster and climate resilience. He has advised governments on housing policy, led disaster risk assessments from local to national scales, and developed tools that help decision-makers act under uncertainty.

Chu Thi Ngoc Anh, “Kiu", serves as the Head of Innovation and Design Team at Think Playgrounds. Leveraging her background in ecological architecture and urban design, she specializes in co-design approaches to create climate-resilient housing, biodiversity-friendly public spaces, and community-driven urban innovations.

Sanjeev Hada is Associate Director of the Housing Support Service Unit, Programs Department, at Habitat for Humanity International's Asia-Pacific regional office in the Philippines. With over 15 years experience across the region, he has led disaster response, risk reduction, and preparedness work through the Red Cross Movement and other humanitarian agencies. He brings deep expertise in program development, coordination, and management, with a strong focus on shelter, housing, and infrastructure - spanning program leadership, partnerships, and delivering resilient, sustainable solutions for community preparedness and recovery.

About Habitat for Humanity AP

- habitat.org/ap

S01E03 Housing and Gender Equity: Shifting Roles and Building Inclusion in Asia-Pacific

More than 1.6 billion people across Asia-Pacific live in inadequate housing, with women facing added barriers like insecure land tenure, limited access to finance, and exclusion from housing decisions.

In this episode of Open the Door by Habitat for Humanity International, Elizabeth "Liz" Satow, Habitat's Area Vice President for Asia-Pacific, speaks with Anabel Ali, Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity Fiji, and Anand Bolimera, National Director of Habitat for Humanity India, on how housing systems shape gender outcomes and how to make them more inclusive.

They unpack gender equality vs. gender equity, citing examples like Project Nirmanshree, Habitat India's Housing Support Services, Habitat Fiji's She Fixes It initiative, the Daulomani Safe Home, and India's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana program, showing how women-centered housing strengthens safety, health, livelihoods, education and decision-making.

Chapters

00:00 – Cold open

Our moderator and speakers:

Sources/References:

About Habitat for Humanity:

S01E02 Policy and Partnerships: Scaling Housing Solutions Across Asia-Pacific

In disaster-prone, rapidly urbanizing Asia-Pacific, building alone cannot fix a broken housing system. In this episode, moderator Eliza Sthapit, national director of Habitat for Humanity Nepal, speaks with Handoko Ngadiman, national director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, and Phal Vandy, national director of Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, about the role of evidence-based policy and cross-sector partnerships in scaling housing solutions. Eliza sets the regional context and explains why housing is the foundation for health, education, safety, opportunity, and dignity. Vandy describes Cambodia's trust-based work with government, UN-Habitat, other NGOs, and the private sector to strengthen social and affordable housing policy, contributing to efforts to develop a housing law, financial inclusion strategy, and housing fund. Handoko examines barriers such as insecure land tenure and limited access to formal banking and government subsidies. He also shares the experience of Tanjung Kait, where 110 fishing families secured land titles, infrastructure, and decent homes through community facilitation, savings groups, and government support.

Chapters:

Sources/References:

Open the Door, a podcast by Habitat for Humanity International about housing, is coming soon!

In upcoming episodes, we'll explore the stories, people, and ideas shaping the future of housing in the Asia Pacific region.

Open the door with us as we hear from voices across Asia and beyond confronting the housing crisis head-on.

Follow and subscribe to never miss an episode.

Open the Door, a podcast by Habitat for Humanity International about housing, is coming soon!

In upcoming episodes, we'll explore the stories, people, and ideas shaping the future of housing.

Open the door with us as we hear from voices across Asia and beyond confronting the housing crisis head-on.

Follow and subscribe to never miss an episode.