PRAVAH-quarterly newsletter of Water For People India-July to September 2024

• 3M in Shirur block of Pune, Maharashtra

With the support of 3M we are implementing watershed development through the Ridge to Valley approach for increasing the water availability for drinking and agriculture in select villages of the Shirur block in Pune, Maharashtra. In August, the 3M team visited the Kendur village and was greeted by grateful community members who shared the benefits of the intervention with them.

• ITC in WB, Assam and Odisha

Through the enduring collaboration between ITC Limited and Water For People India Trust, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH) initiatives are being implemented in communities and public institutions across select geographies of West Bengal, Odisha and Assam.

WASH and MHM facilities such as toilets, changing rooms and handwashing stations have been constructed in schools, aanganwadi centers and communities along with carrying out behavior change activities and setting up of child cabinets and mohalla committees for the proper use and maintenance of these facilities. A visit by ITC officials to each of our project locations was facilitated in the quarter.

Additionally, the launch event for Phase-II of the Light House Initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin 2.0 was held at Rampur in Kamrup, Assam.

• ETP- Gender focused WASH in tea estates of Assam

Water For People has collaborated with Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) to carry out a gender responsive WASH program in some tea estates of Assam. By engaging communities in a participatory approach that allows for co-creation of the message and content, we are working with relevant stakeholders to better the water, sanitation and hygiene practices of the tea estate workers and dwellers.

• Atlas Copco- source strengthening in Chikhaldara

With the support of Atlas Copco, we are working to build conscious communities for water conservation and good governance practices for sustainability of drinking water in 30 villages of Chikhaldara block in the Amravati district of Maharashtra. To increase the storage capacity of water, various infrastructural work such as deepening of ponds, recharge shafts etc. has been undertaken. The focus is also to build community ownership for the operation and maintenance of this infrastructure.

• Oak- IWRM in Sundarbans

Supported by the Oak Foundation, Water For People has collaborated with PRASARI and the local communities to implement integrated water resource management, addressing both drinking and agricultural needs using the Participatory Ground Water Management techniques in two blocks of the Sunderbans in West Bengal. Empowering locals and SHG women, the initiative fosters sustainable water use through community-driven action plans and resource management models. For the past one year, we have also employed innovations like the Aquifer Storage and Recovery model and the High Ridge and Low Furrow model here.

• Caterpillar- EF in S24P and Birbhum

Backed by Caterpillar Foundation, we launched our Everyone Forever program in seven blocks across two districts of West Bengal to improve water and sanitation infrastructure for vulnerable populations. The collaborative initiative with BTS and Tomorrow’s Foundation which just reached its one-year milestone, strengthens water resources, promotes sustainable access of WASH facilities especially in community health centers, and enhances community-led water resource management.

• Sanitation

Our work in sanitation follows the ‘Sanitation as a Business’ approach which brings in the private sector and aims to make sanitation services profitable for their sustainability.

With some support from UNICEF, Water For People has been developing the WASH Service Aggregator model by identifying and enhancing the capacities of 95 WASH entrepreneurs and 117 service providers, including masons, plumbers, and pit emptiers. These professionals are now prepared to collaborate on a unified platform through the Swachh Company app, which is scheduled to launch soon in Howrah and South 24 Parganas.

We have been supporting TBF with the setting up of a Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant in Muzaffarpur, Bihar which uses a vermifiltratzion based model for managing fecal sludge and supports circular economy. Market linkages for the vermicompost and vermiwash with SHG federations and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have also been established for roll out of the products by November 2024.

Work is also underway towards developing context specific FSTP models like one in South 24 Parganas with a sludge drying bed and another in Duttabad, Kolkata with a community toilet. Some efforts are also underway in Birbhum, WB and Pakur, Jharkhand.