Start Date: 2009-09-01

Completion Date: 2010-02-28

Technology Used:

As the target population is living in un-electrified villages, Gram Vikas’ solution of bringing piped water is a gravity flow water system. A simple and sustainable concept, Gram Vikas’ design of gravity flow water systems has successfully managed to provide a continuous water supply to many villages.

In gravity flow, wherever possible water is tapped from a suitable perennial spring. However, if no suitable spring exists, Gram Vikas have developed a highly innovative solution of establishing a sanitary dug well. A slit is cut down one side of the well and a pipe attached at the bottom. The slit is then blocked back up, and the entire well is lined with stones. Water then percolates into the well, where it is stored, and can then be transported to the village overhead water tank. The spring or well are at a higher altitude than the village, therefore the water is transported through pipes using the principles of gravity from where it is again distributed through pipes to all families around the clock. To ensure the pipes are protected, they are dug deep into the ground.

This system has many advantages, for example, it eliminates the need for expensive to run pumps, and requires very little maintenance, making it an economically viable option for remote, and marginalized communities.

In addition, it has environmental benefits, relying purely on the force of gravity to bring the water to the village, and eliminating the need for pumps, with high carbon emissions.

Phases:

The project will be completed in one phase.

Community Organization:

Gram Vikas’ approach of using water and sanitation activities as an entry point for whole village development is delivered under the MANTRA (Movement and Action Network for the Transformation of Rural Areas) Programme. MANTRA is based on five principles and the core principle is 100% inclusion of all families in a village. No work can start on building the water and sanitation facilities until every family has agreed to take part. This is crucial from a total sanitation point of view, as even if one family continue to practice open defecation, water sources will continue to be polluted. 100% inclusion is also a step towards addressing exclusionary practices prevailing in society –mainly towards dalits, indigenous communities and women.

Other core values include cost sharing, and gender and social equity. Gram Vikas do not believe in the common attitude of “poor people only need poor solutions.” Gram Vikas motivate and enable communities to overcome deeply rooted divisions along lines of caste and gender to come together and achieve high quality solutions, resulting in every household having a toilet, and bathing room, with three taps supplying piped, potable water. Gram Vikas believe that the poor can and will pay for truly beneficial development solutions, however the larger community also have a role in meeting the social cost for families, especially in areas where the government makes no or measly investment in water and sanitation infrastructure.

Before the programme begins in any village, the village must come to a consensus that all families, without exception, will participate. This brings the community together across barriers of caste, gender and economic status, which for centuries have excluded large sections of communities from the process of development. The village must also raise a corpus fund of Rs.1,000 ($22) per household with the better-off paying more and the poorer less. The corpus fund is an acid test, demonstrating that the community is committed to the process of development. Interest from the corpus fund is used to meet the social costs of extending the water and sanitation system to new households in the future, ensuring 100% coverage at all times.

The community drives the implementation of the programme. The community makes the bricks and collects all the local materials necessary and rural youth trained in masonry build the overhead water tank and lays the network of pipes. 1-2 rural youth are trained as pump operators and are taught how to make any necessary repairs to the system.
The management of the project is undertaken by the Village Executive Committee (VEC) comprising of 6 men and 6 women, all of whom are elected. In addition to constructing the water and sanitation infrastructure, Gram Vikas spend time building the capacities of this committee to enable them to gradually take over the entire responsibility for managing the water and sanitation infrastructure after Gram Vikas’ withdrawal from the village.

An advantage of the gravity-flow system is that it generally requires little maintenance, however, there may be maintenance required occasionally for parts such as pipe joints. The cost of any maintenance is met by the village maintenance fund formed from community-led livelihood activities, e.g. income from pisciculture and horticulture.

Government Interaction:

Gram Vikas are an approved project implementing agency for the government’s Swajaldhara water scheme

Ancillary activities:

In addition to the construction of the water supply system a number of other activities will take place: hygiene and sanitation education, training in masonry and capacity building for Village Executive Committee’s members to enable them to take the responsibility for managing the water and sanitation infrastructure.

Gram Vikas staff engage with self- help groups of women to impress upon them the importance of personal hygiene. Small, but instructive messages about using some form of soap (or detergent or ash) to clean the hands after one uses a toilet, bathing regularly and wearing clean clothes are passed on during the regular meetings. Due to the availability of a bathing room and running water, women find it easier to take care of their personal cleanliness and hygiene. In addition, children are repeatedly guided in schools, about the importance of hand-washing, keeping their hair clean, keeping nails short and clean etc.

Before construction of the toilets and bathing rooms, young men and women, working as unskilled labourers, are trained in masonry. On completion of the training, they construct the toilets, bathing rooms, and the overhead water tanks. These newly trained masons are assured of work for a period of time if they so desire, many go on to successfully secure lucrative contracts in nearby urban centers, and within a year, their income earning capacity increases by at least three times.

Other Issues:

Another issue is the disparity in government policy between urban and rural areas, with heavily subsidised water and sanitation infrastructure in urban areas, but in rural areas there are no such subsidies. The rural people are expected to fund their own systems or go without.

In addition, until recently the government’s Swajaldhara scheme had been downsized, reducing the amount of funding available for water supply systems. This has resulted in a large backlog of villages who have completed their sanitation systems, but have been unable to access a water supply. This funding proposal is being submitted to help with this backlog, and enable 4 rural communities who have already built sanitation infrastructure to access a safe piped water supply, and complete their water and sanitation project.