Resilient Retreats: ESCAPE is a project funded under a USAID Climate Adaptation Project (CAP) grant to carry out research to develop a set of designs and guidelines that guesthouse designers, developers, and builders, as well as the government, can utilize to improve the resiliency and adaptive capacity of guesthouses.

Our team will be carrying out a baseline assessment which will include a national survey of guesthouses to identify the current climate risks faced, what design considerations exist, and financing to reduce climate risks or recover from such impacts, as well as a review of current regulations and guidelines for guesthouse development. This project will also conduct a study of climate-resilient design technologies which are currently being used and develop climate-resilient designs suitable for the Maldives & develop guidelines as well as conduct a financial assessment to implement the designs will also be done to show cost benefits and return investment.

The designs and guidelines will be shared with stakeholders, including the facilitation with investors to get additional finance for climate-proofing.

The baseline assessment focused on analyzing the existing climate risks and available design considerations, while also conducting a thorough review of current regulations and guidelines pertaining to guesthouse development.
SIGS conducted a guesthouse survey to understand the climate risks experienced by guesthouses in Maldives, the impact from climate risks, how its addressed, as well as the cost of addressing the damages. This quantitative survey was carried out in-person in Kaafu atoll and Vaavu atoll. Further, phone calls and an online survey was also used to administer the survey.
The innovation learning component aimed to explore climate resilient design responses that can be utilized in guesthouse designs. A desk review was conducted, which investigated climate resilient techniques, technologies and materials used in buildings.
This component aims to enhance the climate resilience of local guesthouses by investigating design features specifically tailored for the Maldivian environment.
An in-depth guideline regarding viable climate-resilient design features was compiled. Additionally, a cost-benefit analysis of climate-resilient design is being conducted.
The final component of the ESCAPE project aims to actively provide stakeholders with vital information regarding climate-resiliency:
- Current climate risks.
- Climate resilient design guidelines.
- Cost-benefit analysis of employing climate-resilient design features.
Discussions focusing on stakeholders and potential investors will be facilitated to secure additional financing for climate-proofing measures.