The purpose of the dataset is to better understand the reconstruction decisions of earthquake-affected households in Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes. Data is collected that reflects upon drivers and barriers to building back seismic-resistant housing to find pathways for more effective recovery assistance.

Data collection included household interviews, structural assessments of reconstructed houses, community data, focus group discussions and field observations. These data were collected during fieldwork conducted between February and May 2018, approximately 3 years after the 2015 Gorkha earthquakes. Data were collected in two earthquake-affected districts, Gorkha and Okhaldhunga, which had received different types and intensities of humanitarian technical assistance for the reconstruction. The sample included 25 communities, 7 in Gorkha and 17 in Okhaldhunga. Communities were identified using a combination of geographical boundaries and the smallest identifiable administrative order, the ward level. At all sites, observation was intensively used to get insight into the general social and economic conditions, existing spatial and states of physical infrastructures that are important in the daily life of the households such as road, schools, health, markets facilities, and services such as transport services.

The data has already been used to explore social knowledge networks, funding, technical assistance, risk perceptions, seismic resistance to housing, motivations, abilities, and opportunities.