Farzana Hossain
| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program |
| Project Title: | Landscape of Impermanence: Agriculture and Sediment Routes |
| Field of Study: | Architecture |
| Home Institution: | Cornell University, Ithaca, NY |
| Host Institution: | Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, West Bengal |
| Grant Start Month: | March 2024 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Farzana Hossain is a graduate from Cornell University, having earned a bachelor’s degree with distinction in architecture. Her academic trajectory has encompassed extensive teaching and research experience, notably by serving as a teaching assistant and summer studio critic at Cornell University where she adeptly cultivated her leadership and communication proficiencies. She has garnered valuable professional exposure at renowned firms, including MASS Design Group, 3XN Architects, L’Observatoire international, and FZAD Architecture. Farzana’s research expertise centers on silt deposition and the intricate ramifications of colonial infrastructure in the Bay of Bengal; this demonstrates her unwavering commitment to comprehending multifaceted environmental and social issues. Her aspirations involve extending this research from the Himalayan watershed in Gangtok to the Bengal Basin within the Sundarbans National Park in India, as she endeavors to attain deeper insights into this intricate landscape.
The state of Sikkim in India became the world’s first “organic state” in 2003, having banned chemical fertilizers and pesticides to combat the water pollution and land degradation caused by the Green Revolution. While previous research has focused on government policies, Farzana’s Fulbright-Nehru study is examining the role of small-scale farmers and their indigenous knowledge in conserving soil and water resources. By integrating ecological design and landscape transformations with agricultural practices, the study is exploring how Sikkim’s transition to organic farming has impacted the cultivated landscape. The Rani Khola watershed in Gangtok serves as a case study, where farmers use indigenous knowledge to practice terracing and agroforestry for sustainable land management. Farzana is also documenting landscape changes and generating measured digital drawings and videos.