Programs / Water / Methodology «

Community Ownership of Water System

To implement a water development project, Water Brigades Honduras works with community members, volunteers and other Global Brigades programs in a process from community selection to community follow-up after project completion.  In selecting project communities Water Brigades works with the Research & Evaluation team and other GB Honduras programs to evaluate the potential for GB’s holistic model to be implemented.  Need, collaboration, and demographics are all heavily considered in the selection process. While Water Brigades projects can be completed without the presence of the Public Health, Microfinance, or Architecture brigades in the community, future program presence is considered for the maximum benefit of the community members.  Water Brigades begins a project by communicating what is to be done and all party’s roles in the project to the community members along with the impact that the project will have.  It is clearly stated that no project is a gift and that the project belongs to the community.  Councils, committees, work groups and group coordinators are formed or identified in the community to create structure and leadership around the project.  An agreement is signed by Water Brigades, community leaders, and the local government before ground is broken.  

Education & Training

Project implementation relies heavily on community members and volunteers while Water Brigades staff members manage the project and guide the implementation process.  At all times during the project, Water Brigades ensures that the community is aware of the project schedule and upcoming tasks to be completed.  On occasion project implementation is split up into stages depending on volunteer numbers and brigade seasons.  These stages are well established with the community in anticipation of implementation.  Throughout the implementation process, Water Brigades educates and trains the community regarding their new water system and its operation, maintenance and administration to ensure the sustainability of the project.  In order to successfully execute Water Brigades’ exit strategy, education is vital.  Once implementation is completed and the water project is tested and approved by the Water Brigades staff and community the project is officially handed over to the community.  At this point Water Brigades begins the follow-up phase in which the community is visited incrementally over time to review the state of the water system and Water Council.  Time between initial follow-up visits is short, but as the project progresses further into its lifetime successfully, the Water Brigades staff scales back the frequency of the visits leaving the project in the control of the community.

WATER BLOG FEED  |  view all articles