The exercise was a project by Habitat for Humanity, an NGO that has built over 15,000 homes in India. Assisting them were the Rotary Club of Mumbai, the Oberoi Hotels and women’s group Women Indiabuilds.

“Having built homes for villagers before, I have realised that the people — especially women in Maharashtra — have a clear-cut idea of how they want their houses to be. While they can’t speak English, they have mastered the art of communicating with signs,” observed Owen, who has been building homes in India for two-and-half year. A pro now, Owen and Annerieke have also constructed dwellings for the poor in places like Pakistan, Srilanka and Ghana before.

Even as the Owens dived in the muck and played with soil, the first-timers worked with much apprehension. As the morning sun became intense, a tired Binh (Vietnamese consul general) refused to give up. “Maharashtra is a big state, this is a little bit of work we are doing,” he said sportingly, adding, “Back in Vietnam too we have housing problem. Recently we built homes for about 100 families there.” Meanwhile, Egypt’s Salama, who also had been introduced to the project for the first time, enjoyed herself. “It’s good fun despite being a lot of hard work. Even better, it is helping poor people,” she quipped.

The homes — each about 300 to 400 sq ft, will be independent units with one room, kitchen and a bathroom. “While plumbing and electricity is still a problem, the houses are cool and self-sufficient,” said Felix Fernandes chief operating officer of Habitat. Fernandes explained that the project does not aim at charity but at involving villagers to become independent. “This time, we are helping seven families build pucca brick-and-clay structures, but the houses are completely at their cost. To begin with, we help the families save at least one third of the house cost before laying the foundation. Next, we build the houses and ask the family to repay the cost over a period of a few months. For this we make sure the family chosen is responsible enough and capable for having a sustained income.” Each home cost around Rs 60-65,000. Habitat for Humanity representatives added that they also involved the womenfolk in the projects, “because these women exhibit a lot of pride and take care of their property”.