Sustainability

Creating and measuring long-term impact

The Project worked in hand in hand with PRI members , women SHG'S and Youth clubs.
Water and sanitation committees formed at each village and were involved during the implementation of the project, together with PRI members and WATSAN committees members have been involved in selection of the BPL (Below Poverty Line) families to be allotted the toilet the project aimed to construct in the villages. They have also taken up the responsibility to collect monthly contributions from the families using the toilets and the Rope pumps to create a common maintenance fund in each village. Almost Rs. 120,000/- has been collected to the maintenance funds. They have also been active during the construction of the toilet and the installation of the rope pumps.

Other Issues

Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution

Due to Humana People to People India’s decision to stop all work in Tamil Nadu and concentrate the activities in Northern India, a part of the program in CDP Cuddalore was never started.
Only activities relating to Water & Sanitation have been implemented and the project is finalized in December 2011 due to heavy rain and some staff personal problem in between.
Number of toilets and Rope pumps were reduced in consultation with the local partner PWX due to rise in prices on construction material.

Learnings

Knowledge of project and process for sharing

The idea of the project is to improve the general health conditions in the villages and provide clean drinking water. 40 toilets and 10 Rope pumps should be established and 25 siphon filters should be distributed. The work has been going on in cooperation with Community Based Groups.
The project has spread knowledge about new concept of Eco-Sanitation and low cost toilets. Especially women are happy for toilets, as they are the ones facing most problems with open defecation. On top of that they favor the Eco-San toilets, as only a third of the water needed in a normal toilet is enough to keep it clean. The benefit of the compost produced in the toilet still has to be seen, as it takes 6 months for the compost to mature.
The demand for toilets is growing in the villages, as the benefits are obvious. Many villagers are now ready to contribute 30% of the cost.

The Rope pump is also a new and low cost technology which is very effective in areas with a high groundwater level (down to max 30 m). It can provide water for drinking as well as for irrigation. It is cheap to install, easy to maintain and can be operated with less effort than the traditional water pumps. Because of these features the pumps have become very popular, especially among women who otherwise would have to walk long distances to fetch water.

The Siphon filters distributed by the project has also shown their value as the families who are using them have noticed that less days are spoil by diseases such as diarrhea, meaning fewer working days lost.

The project has linked up with 82 members of 5 existing women’s Self Help Groups in 5 villages. Meetings have been organised with them on monthly basis. 40 meetings were organised with SHG’s on theoretical and practical skills of different issues such as Sanitation, use of Effective Micro-Organism, Vermi Compost and building and using Eco-Sanitation toilets, Rope pumps, and Siphon water filters.

 10 trainings were organized for the members of SHGs on the idea and the use of Eco-San toilets. More than 146 women participated.
 10 awareness meetings with SHGs on use of toilets. 75 women participated. The women were informed about Eco-San toilets and other options of low cost toilets.
 5 Trainings on maintenance of Rope Pumps where 30 members participated
 5 Trainings on use of water filters. 70 women participated
 5 Exposure visits to eco-san toilets organized. 63 women participated in the programs.
 5 meeting were organised hand to hand over 41 toilets to beneficiary in five villages.

Activities with Water & Sanitation Committees

The project has formed 5 Water & Sanitation Committees. Each committee consists of 6 members; 2 from Youth Clubs, 2 from SHGs and 2 from the local governing body, the Panchayat Raj.
38 meetings were organized with the Water & Sanitation Committees from the villages of Manavelli, Sangaranpattai, Mangalam, Embalam and Ariyapallyam. The topics for the meetings were: Village Sanitation, Organization of Village Cleaning Actions, Safe drinking water, Eco-San toilets, Rope pumps and Quality of drinking water from tank and public places.

The Water & Sanitation Committees have selected the families where Eco-San toilets have been constructed from among the families in the villages living below the poverty line. The project team has trained 5 Water & Sanitation Committees on maintenance of Rope pumps, both theoretically and practically.

Inspired by the meetings and trainings, the Water & Sanitation Committees have played an active role to clean public places, initiate rain water harvest, and construct soak pits to dispose of waste water and in installation and maintenance of two Rope pumps in each village.

Activities with Youth Clubs

The project has formed 5 youth clubs with 82 members. 33 meeting were organised with the youth club members

In the meetings the youth was made aware on issues related to HIV/AIDS, Village Development, and Sanitation, Eco-San toilets, Rope pumps and Siphon Water Filters.

Cooperation with the Panchayat Raj Institutions

The project has tied up with the elected representatives of the Panchayat Raj Institutions (village councils) in the 5 villages PRI. 25 active members have participated in 27 meetings organised throughout the year.

The PRI members organized that Government subsidies for construction of toilets were paid to illegible poor families. The PRI members have submitted 41 applications to the DRDA (District Rural Development Agency). In spite of the applications only 22 normal toilets were approved for support, while 19 Eco-San toilet were not approved.

The PRI members have been involved in selection of the BPL (Below Poverty Line) families to be allotted the toilet the project aimed to construct in the villages. They have also taken up the responsibility to collect monthly contributions from the families using the toilets and the Rope pumps to create a common maintenance fund in each village. Almost Rs. 120,000/- has been collected to the maintenance funds. They have also been active during the construction of the toilet and the installation of the rope pumps.
Awareness drives in the community

On World Water day the project organized a rally with students from Achariya and Kasthuba Collages for women in Villianur. 150 students participated in a March around the villages. The students carried posters with slogans on water.

A Street Theater show was organized in Managalam to create awareness about Eco-San toilets. A professional agency, Yatra Multi-Media, was hired to perform. Almost 120 people participated. Inspired by the play several people in the village decided to build eco-san toilet in villages.

Impact

People Impacted: 1754

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 225

6 rope rope placed at individual houses and 4 at public places. so 6 families and 20 families from other 4 ropes got benefit for availing fresh drinking water.

People Getting Sanitation: 205

41 families , 82 children , 41 women

People Getting Other Benefits: 1000

more than 200 people got training on water and sanitation and 1000 people participated in the different activities and training programs organized by project.