• Restore the beauty of a traditional Rajasthani courtyard home and rehabilitate it for use as a community and heritage resource center
• Provide stable and safe employment for a crew of primarily women laborers and train them over the life of the project to be a team of skilled restoration specialists who can use these skills to improve their livelihoods and the lives of their families and community
• Engage and empower the haveli neighbors, particularly youth and women, to celebrate their traditional and modern cultural practices and improve their quality of living
• Provide economic benefit by hiring local staff and supporting local suppliers and services
• Demonstrate to the larger Udaipur community, urban development professionals, and conservationists the viability of restoration as a tool of community renewal and improvement, and provide them with the resources at the community and heritage resource center to embark on similar initiatives

• Mahim Singh Mehta Family
  Recognizing its incredible cultural value, Mahim Singh Mehta has kept the Bichli Haveli in the family when most haveli owners have sold or broken up the grand (but increasingly expensive) residences of their ancestors. He has endeavored for more than a decade to find a way to bring the haveli back to life. His daughter, Malvika Mehta, a trained architect, serves as the Project Architect and has devoted years to documenting the property and planning its adaptive use.
• JanDaksha Trust
  One of the Bichli Haveli Project goals – and an RWI foundational value – is job creation. We’re delighted to be partnering with local Udaipur NGO (nonprofit), JanDaksha Trust, who is supporting the project’s crew of primarily women laborers who are being trained in restoration over the project’s three years. JanDaksha’s work focuses on the vulnerable migrant worker population and women’s empowerment. In addition to arranging dignified employment, JanDaksha supports the crew with official work documents, healthcare and legal assistance, family support, financial literacy training, and much more.
• Studio VanRO
  Studio VanRO is an interdisciplinary firm focused on architecture, art, and urbanism. Co-founder Vandini Mehta is leading the project’s Urban Art and Cultural Heritage Initiative which seeks to engage the neighborhood and community around the Bichli Haveli. The initiative includes the creation of a Youth Squad, and conducting documentation, focus groups and art workshops in the neighborhood along the Bapna Ki Sehri street, which will culminate in a local street festival. The initiative seeks to use civic engagement to reconnect the residents with their neighborhood and also bring the attention of the city authorities towards community-centered development goals.

Role of Volunteers

Restoration Works volunteers are a vital component of the project. They work alongside the crew in hands-on restoration tasks and participate in the community engagement activities.

• Tour fees fund the project
  Volunteer trip fees provide the funds by which we are able to purchase building materials, pay the wages of the on-site crew (most of whom come from within the community) and provide volunteer lodging, food and activities. For this project, almost 100% of the trip fee remains in-country, with 85% going directly to the project. For US residents, trip fees are considered a charitable deduction along with some associated travel costs (consult with your tax advisor).
• Extra hands and open hearts
  We believe in the value of work as the universal language that connects an individual’s commitment to a group effort, benefiting the larger community. Anyone can join a Restoration Works International trip. No previous construction or building experience is required – just a desire to make a difference in the lives of the local community. The tasks volunteers participate in vary depending on the work progress and their own skills and interests. Volunteers will always find a variety of jobs available, such as working alongside the local crew of women laborers and craftspeople to complete hands-on construction work, contributing toward community engagement initiatives (documentation through photography and video, workshops, traditional art programs, etc.) and completing artifact conservation tasks. We believe that by bringing people of different cultures together to restore these historic sites, we provide opportunities for cross-cultural understanding and help communities proudly celebrate their unique place in the world.

The Haveli in Photos