Sustainability

Creating and measuring long-term impact

Gram Vikas has designed a sustainable model for community organisation and development named MANTRA (Movement and Action Network for the Transformation of Rural Areas), based of five core values:
1) 100% inclusion
2) Gender equality
3) Social equity
4) Sustainability
5) Cost sharing
Water and sanitation activities have been taken up as entry point activity for initiating all round development of villages.

100% inclusion of all families is a per-condition for initiating the WATSAN work in villages. This is crucial from a total sanitation point of view, as even if one family continues 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.

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 if development. Interest from the corpus fund is used to meet the social costs of extending the water and sanitation system of 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 available and rural youth trained in masonry build the overhead water tank and lay 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 a democratic way. In addition to construction the water and sanitation infrastructure, Gram Vikas spend time building the capacities of this committee to enable them gradually take over the entire responsibility for managing the water and sanitation infrastructure after Gram Vikas' withdrawal from the village.

Other Issues

Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution

Although the government is supposed to provide and secure drinking water to rural communities, most often it ends up by installation of a hand pump in the village. With high use, the pumps often break down and the community depends upon the government functionaries to repair the system. In many instances such delays linger for long and people resort to unsafe surface water for drinking purposes.

Government usually priortises bigger villages for implementing of water supply projects and the small, hilly tribal habitations are left to fen for themselves. There is hardly any intervention in these small habitations that can help the people to get safe water.

In this context Gram Vikas priortises its efforts in such remote areas and works with the community to have systems to manage their drinking water needs.

Impact

People Impacted: 120

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 120

25 Households
40 Men
35 Women
45 Children

School Children Getting Water: 40

People Getting Sanitation: 120

25 Households
40 Men
35 Women
45 Children

People Getting Other Benefits: 120