Research

Ethnographic & Action Research

RoleResearcher & DesignerTimeline2019 · Master's ResearchEthnographic ResearchAction ResearchCommunity DesignMobile App

A Master's research project conducted at Perumbakkam — Chennai's largest slum resettlement site. Using a blend of ethnographic observation, surveys, and interviews, the study surfaced the lived challenges of 50 women in Block 15: unemployment, poor transport, limited healthcare, and disrupted education. The findings led to the development of Quick Jobs, a lightweight Tamil-language app providing job listings, self-employment opportunities, government schemes, and bus timings. The app was beta tested for 15 days with pre-test and post-test assessments to evaluate behavioural change — and showed a measurable positive impact. The research was presented as a conference paper at an International Conference held in India and Rotterdam, Netherlands on 16 December 2019.

1 / 36

The Setting

Chennai's Urban Growth and the Cost of Resettlement

This study was conducted in Chennai, where rapid urbanisation has had a hidden cost: the forced relocation of slum communities to peripheral areas. Over 21,000 families — cleaners, rickshaw drivers, street vendors — were displaced to sites like Perumbakkam, 20–25 km from where they used to live and work. The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, operating since 1970, has been relocating communities to make way for flood restoration, metro rail, and urban development projects.

Who Are They, and What Did Evacuation Take from Them?

A 2014 TNSCB survey found 53% of the slum population earns just ₹2,000–5,000 per month. Evacuation — often without prior notice — meant job losses, disrupted schooling, and broken social networks. Women bore the sharpest impact: many were primary breadwinners who lost their livelihoods overnight. Protests by women during the Greams Road and Thidir Nagar slum evacuations revealed just how central they were to family survival.

53% earn ₹2,000–5,000/month (TNSCB 2016)
40% of men are daily wage labourers commuting back to previous areas for work
75% of female participants live with family; 25% are single or destitute women
60% had smartphones — mostly shared between household members

The Research

Ethnographic + Action Research at Perumbakkam Block 15

Perumbakkam was chosen as the study site — in 2017 it had 2,500 residents; within a year, 10,000 families. Block 15 was selected because it housed residents from the Greams Road and Thidir Nagar slums. Research combined ethnographic methods (observation, contextual interviews, field notes, focus groups) with action research (usability study with Emotion AI). We accessed the community through the block leader, visited regularly, and followed residents on their daily commutes using public transport to understand their lives firsthand.

Ethnographic phase: Data collection, thematic analysis using NVivo (qualitative AI)
Action research phase: Usability study with Entropik (Emotion AI for real-time response capture)
50 female participants identified across Block 15
Key problems: Unemployment, Transportation, Education, Health

The Intervention

A Tamil-Language App Built for Shared Phones and Low Connectivity

With 60% of participants owning smartphones, we saw a window for technology intervention. The app was built as a lightweight hybrid to run on low-spec devices, entirely in Tamil. Features included job classifieds, self-employment opportunities sourced from government organisations, government scheme information, bus arrival timings, and legal rights awareness. Only 26 of the 50 participants needed immediate job assistance, so the sample was narrowed to focus them. Multi-login was built in, since many shared devices with neighbours.

Job classifieds, self-employment deals, government schemes, bus timings
Tamil language throughout for low-literacy users
Multi-login to support device sharing among neighbours
Community workshops on app usage, legal rights, and skill-building

The Impact

6,121 Hits on Day One — and a Changed Community

On the day of installation, the app received 6,121 hits. April recorded the highest usage, averaging 360 hits per day from the same 26 participants. Before the study, information flowed only through the block leader. After the intervention, residents began seeking information through other online channels. Awareness of rights and government schemes improved significantly. Residents who rarely interacted with neighbours before the study began socialising and sharing information. The research attracted international interest — a collaboration with researcher Maartje van Eerd from the Netherlands followed, along with presentations at international conferences.