House construction

Dach überm Kopf was founded on the principle of constructing houses and supplying a secure and stable living environment for indigent families in India. Besides the recent work on different newer projects, constructing houses is still the main focus of Dach überm Kopf. Dach überm Kopf's construction for indigent people enjoys national as well as international attention and donations both from private donors and companies as well as public institutions. To date, Dach überm Kopf was able to build a great number of houses and support thousands of people stable living environments under humane conditions.

Every donation Dach überm Kopf receives which is not specifically designated in use is mainly used for constructing houses. Donations can also be designated specifically for the construction of houses with a reference in the transfer. A house can be donated as a whole or many small contributions from different donors to help construct a complete house. If a house is donated as a whole, the house will be named and signed according to the donor's wish. Most of the houses donated as a whole, carry the last names or first names of their donors or donating organizations.     » Donate now

The first house was built in 1987 and costed converted about € 872,-. 10 years later in 1997 the construction of a similar house already costed € 1.090,-. After 1997 a continuously unfavourably developing exchange rate, inflation and continuously increasing construction material costs exacerbated house construction. After changing tax laws in 2017, a new 28% tax dramatically increased construction costs in India.

As of January 2023 the construction of a house costs € 3.600,-.

Indigent families can submit a written application for construction of a house with their local parish. This applies to all families independent of their ethnicity and religious affiliation.

The following guidelines must be followed by all indigent families:

1. Severe poverty of all the family members
2. Willingness to help with construction of the house by all family members
3. Willingness to help with construction in a specified amount of days by all friends and relatives of the family
4. Funding of 4 months worth of average salary
5. Compliance to a 15-year prohibition on resale recorded with the land register

Every parish, where applications were turned in, founds a working commitee consisting of volunteers who process all applications. The working commitees are supported by the partner organization of Dach überm Kopf on site in India.

The working commitee processes the applications based on the following steps:

1. Acceptance of the application
2. Verification of the application
3. Assessment of the families severe poverty
4. Review of compliance with the guidelines
5. If multiple applications were turned in, the working commitee prioritizes them by level of poverty

After all applications have been processed and prioritized they will be incorporated into the main waiting list. Based on donations available new houses will be constructed and handed over to the indigent families according to their positions on the main waiting list.