Vernacular to modern in the search of sustainable development

India has a rich cultural heritage. Madhya Pradesh is a state located in the Central India. It is known for its tribal culture and habitat. Each tribe has a unique settlement due to climate, topography and availability of materials. The culture and architecture are closely knitted. The paper aims to study the settlement of ‘Saharia’ a primitive tribe from Madhya Pradesh. The objective is to understand its socio-cultural, ecological, architectural and economic aspects. The methodology adopted is to document and analyse ‘Saharia’ tribe on these aspects. Globalization had brought a major change in social and cultural life of people.The result focuses on the adaptation of appropriate technology using locally available materials and knowledge. It requires an innovative and creative approach to incorporate the traditional knowledge in the contemporary design. The work of architects who worked on similar ideology are studied. The paper concludes by learning lessons from vernacular architecture and its adaptation in the modern context.