Building trust and warmth: Co-designing energy solutions with travellers and displaced communities in Ireland

The MOBILISE project addresses the exclusion of Irish Travellers, asylum seekers, and displaced communities in mobile dwellings from national energy efficiency and climate action plans. By combining human-centred design and participatory methods, the project co-develops practical, low-carbon retrofit solutions that respond to cultural, social, and technical realities often overlooked by mainstream policy. Community workshops and design-thinking sessions revealed that mobile-home residents face high energy costs, poor indoor air quality, and unsafe fuels, leading to significant health risks. MOBILISE aims to provide practical retrofit solutions and build community capacity through accessible information, skills development, and training opportunities. A Community of Practice model fosters ongoing collaboration among residents, advocates, local authorities, and service providers, creating trust and shared learning. The project demonstrates that inclusive retrofits can reduce energy poverty, improve health, and advance climate goals, contributing to UN SDGs on health, clean energy, reduced inequalities, sustainable communities, and climate action. MOBILISE offers a replicable blueprint for equitable retrofit policy and practice, highlighting that technical solutions alone are insufficient without participatory engagement and cultural competence. By centring lived experience, the project shows how marginalised groups can actively shape a fair, low-carbon future.