Keeping cool shouldn't be a privilege

We’re feeling the heat. The Met Office has issued a rare ‘red: extreme heat’ warning for the UK, as temperatures rise towards 38°C. And we're far from alone – France, Spain and Italy are under the same red alerts, with dangerous heat reaching corners of Europe not built for it.

Many of us can take the edge off. We run the cold tap and fill a glass. We switch on a fan, if the electricity bill isn't a worry. We step into a local library where the air is cooler.

But that comfort has never been shared equally. There may well be people on your own street who can't afford to keep their home cool, or an elderly neighbour facing the heat alone.

And the women and families we work with in rural Bangladesh face it with few options. There's often no piped water to the house. A fan, and the electricity to run it, can be out of reach. Nowhere nearby offers a cooler place to retreat to. The heat remains after long days in the fields and caring for family. Rest is rarely on the table.

And it's no longer a passing season. Bangladesh now ranks second in the world for exposure to extreme temperatures, and since 1980 the ‘feels like’ temperature has risen by 4.5°C. In the summer of 2025, close to 60 million people across Bangladesh endured life-threatening heat. The toll on health is real: cases of diarrhoea and respiratory diseases double, and women are among the most likely to suffer heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

“In extreme heat, poorly built homes feel like ovens. But women’s work never stops. It impacts their health, sleep and wellbeing. They have no choice but to endure it.”

— Apu (Nirapod Bangladesh Songstha)

This is where the home itself can help. Much of AzuKo’s work pairs traditional building methods with practical upgrades. Vernacular* architecture works with the climate – for example, thick earth walls act as thermal mass absorbing heat during the day to keep interiors cool. They then release that stored warmth slowly once the air cools at night. As nights themselves grow warmer, a home that starts the evening cooler matters all the more. But those same earthen walls are vulnerable. Heavy rain, humidity and flooding wear them down, and families lose precious time to constant repairs.

The fix doesn’t have to be costly. Simple additives and stabilisers (often materials that can be found in the village) coupled with good design principles, help earth walls become more water resilient and longer lasting. This means less maintenance, less money spent, and more time and energy to rise above poverty.

“A good house is cool and airy in summer, warm in winter and protected from storms. The whole family can live together safely and healthily. Only in such a house can a family live with dignity.”

— Runa (northwest Bangladesh)

The heat will come again next year, and the year after. The question is who gets to meet it from somewhere safe?

With your support, a woman in Bangladesh can build a home that holds the worst of it at bay – and gives her family the chance to look beyond simply surviving the summer.

Give today, and help build that home.

* Vernacular architecture is building rooted in a particular place and culture: made from local materials, shaped by techniques passed down over generations, and designed to work with the climate rather than against it. It's the practical knowledge of communities, not formally trained architects.

If you know someone who might be at risk, there are things you can do.

In the UK, your local council can offer advice if you're concerned about a friend, neighbour or family member who needs extra support. The Government's Beat the heat guidance and the NHS pages on heat exhaustion and heatstroke explain how to spot the warning signs and help someone stay safe.

In Bangladesh, the national Guideline on heat-related illness and UNICEF's technical note on protecting children from heat stress set out practical steps to recognise and respond to heat-related illness.

Wings to fly

Sumita lives in a small rural village in northwest Bangladesh. It’s an agricultural area, most of her neighbours are farmers and the housing conditions are poor. She married young, and has dedicated her life to her family and three children. Now she wants to open her wings and fly.

Sumita joined AzuKo’s Build for safety training to learn how to improve her home. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but soon found out it was much more than a construction course – it was a door to opportunities. After she completed the training, she set her sights on improving her kitchen. She’s a talented cook, and spends much of her day preparing meals for her family. Along with women in her village, she formed a savings group to help each other access finance for home improvements.

She saved enough money to contribute 6,000 BDT (£45), approximately 20% of the build cost for her new kitchen, and we worked with her to design and build it. The kitchen is raised above flood waters with a brick plinth, and the once earthen floor is now cement reducing the need for maintenance and repairs. New walls and roof protect against the intense sun and monsoon rains, with lockable doors so she can safely store utensils. The design encourages cross ventilation, meaning it now doesn’t fill with thick black smoke... and her favourite feature, a kitchen table. She no longer needs to prepare meals hunched over the floor. This is the power of good design.

“Before my kitchen had no walls and a mud floor. It was difficult to keep the rats away. Now we have this kitchen. It’s so clean. I can store food, prepare and cook easily.”

— Sumita

Sumita loves her country of Bangladesh. She used to dream about joining the civil service, but when she became a mother her life took a different path. Now she sees new possibilities for her family, and also for herself.

“When I was young, I was like a bird. I was free. I want to fly. I think I can, I have hope again.”

If our streets could talk, what would they tell us?

Data is a powerful tool. With it, you can understand behaviour and complex systems, make informed decisions, solve problems, improve efficiency and impact. But it’s often ‘owned’ by others, and not accessible to those who need it most.

At AzuKo we believe that place-based data can unlock opportunities, and help communities have a real say in the development of their neighbourhoods. One incredible example of this is the community of South Woodford in northeast London, who we’ve been working with over the past four years. The local South Woodford Society are creating a Design Code – a vision for their area, and set of design requirements that will inform future development. Not an easy task, when representing over 19,000 residents!

South Woodford is in the Borough of Redbridge, in northeast London. The area is heavily dominated by cars – traffic congestion, residential streets used as ‘rat runs’, parked cars impacting pedestrian access and views, and significant air pollution.

Following in-depth community engagement (see reports 1 & 2), four priorities emerged. The area faces:

• Lack of accessible greenspaces

• Poor quality public spaces

• Prioritisation of cars over people

• Loss of key local amenities

But without data, it’s difficult to evidence just how challenging these issues are or set targets for change.

If the streets could talk, what would they tell us?

Well, this is where AppyWay comes in, giving a voice to the streets. The kerbside use data will enable the community to understand just how much of South Woodford’s streets are allocated to sustainable uses, and help them set specific targets for a more sustainable future. With this data the community will be able to pitch for funding to turn their vision for healthy streets and spaces into reality.

Stay tuned for more insights into AzuKo’s Neighbourhood Planning and Design Code work – ensuring communities are in the driving seat of their own development.

(Article originally published in AppyWay / Kerbside Digest)