South Asia Research Institute for Policy and Development, SARID, is a tax-exempt 501c3 non-profit US-based corporation [EIN: 55-0829216], dedicated to identifying and promoting ideas that can help building construction, especially in developing countries. SARID works globally and teaches affordable and sustainable building strategies for poorer communities.

SARID has worked in Pakistan, Bangladesh, the USA, and Haiti and is currently working in Lesotho.

SARID's building practices promote self-reliance, sustainability, and utilize and leverage the local cottage industries. SARID has identified practices/ methodologies that are less dependent on fossil fuels and use more of a country's under-utilized and/or unemployed labor force - with a focus on the construction industry and building practices. SARID’s buildings are designed by licensed professionals who are familiar with local building codes.

Given the emergence of Covid -19, we are currently looking into ways to help poor countries fight this pandemic. Strategies include providing low-cost preventive strategies and information on ongoing vaccine research. Post Covid-19 SARID intends to continue its work on health, clean water, and other life-saving strategies. 

SARID's building initiative has been to try to give poor families in developing countries their own affordable safe and climate-responsive homes. This is done principally by leveraging locally available manpower and material resources to create a low-carbon footprint home.. 

SARID has also been exploring ways to provide safe and clean water to communities, by promoting rainwater harvesting and water conservation practices. SARID also introduces technologies that recycle grey water for irrigating farms and identifies ways to recycle black water with the help of bio-digesters and other technologies.

In 2015 SARID successfully built a zero-energy home in Lesotho, that utilizes solar PV for electricity as well as heats the home with solar hot water heaters. SARID’s building technology has thermal mass and utilizes this property to keep the home warm or cold, depending on the season. In 2018 our Lesotho home was a winner of a global contest organized by MIT's Climate CoLab. It was the winner of the contest for "Buildings" as well as the "Adaptation" - 2 out of 7 contests out of close to 500 proposals from all over the world.

Javed Sultan our chief architect/ engineer and the executive director has also been working on projects in the New Orleans (NO) area, coming up with flood-resistant affordable housing strategies. Our NO project was successfully completed in 2015 in a Katrina-damaged and economically distressed area.

SARID is hopeful that its building technologies will allow people, and poorer countries, to build homes as well as commercial buildings, at significantly lower prices than what is possible now. Homes and institutions will be more energy efficient, seismic, and fire resistant, and have a smaller carbon footprint. These initiatives will in turn will help in reducing global warming. It is anticipated that the introduced technologies will stimulate the economy and may be able to export value-added construction goods and services to other countries. All these design advantages are due to better engineering design and extensive Research and Development (R&D) efforts by SARID.

Mission Summary

SARID, through research, training, and small to intermediate-scale projects, aims to:

• Provide technology and building strategies for affordable, owner-driven, sustainable shelter for people living in developing countries

• Identify strategies for providing clean water to poorer communities

• Identify, promote, and support appropriate, environmentally sound, humane economic development strategies Globally through research, training, and small to intermediate-scale projects

• Identify technologies and processes, so as to increase the use of indigenous resources and stimulate the internal economies

• Encourage inter-regional cooperation, respect, and peace in the region by exchanging views, knowledge, and ideas by means of articles, papers, seminars, and dialogue.

SARID's Board of Advisors and Directors

Javed Sultan, Executive Director
Kathleen Sultan, Director 

Azeem Sultan, Director

Salma Shakir
Dr. Janaki Blum
Nael Hannan
Dr. Mohammed Arif
Sr. Theresia Noko, Adviser
Maharaj Kaul, Adviser