Cottage, shed, hutment, camp or colony — what's the difference?
Across SAMAN's range, a cottage is the smallest self-contained unit for a small crew; a shed is open-plan shelter at the lowest cost per head; a hutment adds partitioned rooms; a camp combines several blocks for a large workforce; and a full colony adds shared toilet and kitchen blocks for long-stay living. Which one fits comes down to how many workers you're housing and for how long — mapped out next.Which labor-colony setup fits your project?
Small crew, tight budget or a short site (under 6–8 months). Start at the entry end: compact two-room cottages for a handful of workers, basic open worker shelters where you only need cover, or open-plan shed housing for the lowest cost per head. For a low-budget block that still reads as proper colony housing, the prefab colony block is the floor of the colony line.
Mid-size project needing partitioned, insulated rooms. Step up to room-partitioned hutments or insulated prefab sheds when workers stay longer and comfort matters. For PUF-panel rooms that hold temperature on exposed sites, the panel-built hutment units are the insulated option.
Large workforce across multiple blocks. When you're housing scores of workers, multi-block site camps and fully prefabricated camps scale across several units and can stack to G+1 or G+2 to save ground footprint.
Long-term, self-sufficient living. For multi-year sites, fitted accommodation blocks and the complete colony setup bundle dormitory-style sleeping bays with attached toilet and kitchen blocks so the workforce lives entirely on site.
Labor colony range and price bands compared
| Product family | Best for | Capacity tier | From (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor Cottages | Smallest budget entry, small crews | Single compact block | 12,90,000 |
| Labor Sheds (incl. prefab) | Lowest cost per head, open shelter | Mid crew | 13,65,000 |
| Shelters & Hutments | Partitioned, insulated rooms | Mid–large crew | 25,85,000 |
| Labor Camps (incl. prefab) | Multi-block site camps, G+1/G+2 | Large workforce | 29,65,000 |
| Labor Accommodations | Fitted, long-stay accommodation | Large workforce | 37,40,000 |
| Full Labor Colony | Self-sufficient living, toilet + kitchen blocks | Full workforce | 45,15,000 |
Why source your worker-housing range from SAMAN
SAMAN fabricates worker housing in-house from its Bangalore facility, which is why the same range covers a ₹12.9L cottage and a ₹47L colony — units are built to order around your land, crew count and project duration rather than sold as one fixed product. Rooms use PUF / sandwich panels for heat resistance, blocks can be configured single-storey or stacked G+1 / G+2 to save ground area, and every unit is engineered to dismantle, relocate and reassemble at the next site so the spend carries forward. Higher tiers include attached toilet and kitchen blocks, electrical fittings and dormitory-style sleeping bays as ready-to-move-in setups. If you want the full single-colony specification and the background on how the range is built, see our labor colony range overview.