Karnataka

Monitoring and documenting effects of endemic fluorosis and results of the sachetana project for fluorosis mitigation

forwater — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 10:26:27 +0000

Monitoring and documenting effects of endemic fluorosis and results of the sachetana project for fluorosis mitigation forwater Fri, 01/06/2023 - 15:56

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The Government of Karnataka and BAIF Institute of Rural Development – Karnataka (BIRD-K) engaged in finding a permanent solution for mitigation of Fluorosis in three districts of Karnataka through an initiative called ‘Sachetana’.

Arghyam added value to this effort by supporting the awareness building and monitoring aspects of the project. Community level activities to improve knowledge, awareness and practice such as action research, monitoring and documentation, were conducted. Through the combined efforts of all the stakeholders, the project succeeded in its objectives and helped reduce Fluorosis. People in the 60 project villages have access to safe drinking water and an increased awareness about different technology to access this water.

Outputs

Successful identification of gaps in the Government scheme and plugging these through a variety of interventions ranging from hydro geological studies to health camps. .
Extensive awareness building activities conducted in the villages ensured active community participation in the programme.
Scientific studies conducted (geo-hydrological) for understanding the causes for fluorosis and assistance in effective recharge process for diluting the fluorine in underground aquifers. A mapping of fluoride affected sources was also done
Rainwater harvesting

Data collection of rainwater harvesting water levels and usage.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting undertaken by households.

Focus Area

Water Quality

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

BAIF Institute for Rural Development

Outreach

27500

Duration

Sun, 01/01/2006 - 12:00 - Fri, 01/01/2010 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/monitoring-and-documenting-effects-endemic-fluorosis-and-results-sachetana-project-0

Monitoring and documenting effects of endemic fluorosis and results of the sachetana project for fluorosis mitigation

forwater — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 10:26:27 +0000

Monitoring and documenting effects of endemic fluorosis and results of the sachetana project for fluorosis mitigation forwater Fri, 01/06/2023 - 15:56

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Outputs

Successful identification of gaps in the Government scheme and plugging these through a variety of interventions ranging from hydro geological studies to health camps. .
Extensive awareness building activities conducted in the villages ensured active community participation in the programme.
Scientific studies conducted (geo-hydrological) for understanding the causes for fluorosis and assistance in effective recharge process for diluting the fluorine in underground aquifers. A mapping of fluoride affected sources was also done
Rainwater harvesting

Data collection of rainwater harvesting water levels and usage.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting undertaken by households.

Focus Area

Water Quality

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

BAIF Institute for Rural Development

Outreach

27500

Duration

Sun, 01/01/2006 - 12:00 - Fri, 01/01/2010 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/monitoring-and-documenting-effects-endemic-fluorosis-and-results-sachetana-project

Integrated domestic water management in H.D. Kote district

forwater — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 09:31:43 +0000

Integrated domestic water management in H.D. Kote district forwater Tue, 01/03/2023 - 15:01

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Two villages in Karnataka were selected to be developed as models for domestic water management. The project ensured integrated domestic water management, including access to piped metered water, sanitation and ensured sustainability at the source. Wastewater management through drains, soak pits and kitchen gardens was done to ensure safe disposal of waste water. EcoSan was established as an option for sanitation tried at certain scale in the project. Conjunctive water use was promoted through rooftop rainwater harvesting. Village level institutions were also strengthened through training and support.

Outputs

Baseline studies, hydrological mapping and water quality testing were carried out.
Awareness building workshops, exposure visit and training for community and local govt. was given.
Around three Water User Groups were formed.
Water hardware was created partly through leveraging money, over Rs. 8 lakhs from community contributions and around 18 lakhs from government schemes.
Rainwater harvesting:
- Over 80 household rooftop rainwater harvesting structures were built.
- Around 3 schools rooftop rainwater harvesting structures were constructed.
One Bore well was dug to provide water.
Piped water system was put in place through which over 370 household water connections were installed.
Sanitation measures taken
- Over 140 families were motivated to construct double pit toilets.
- Over 165 families were motivated to construct EcoSan toilets.
- Around 200 families were motivated to construct soak pits.

Focus Area

Water security

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

MYKAPS

Outreach

2100

Duration

Sun, 01/01/2006 - 12:00 - Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/integrated-domestic-water-management-hd-kote-district

Munda development project

forwater — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 08:40:55 +0000

Munda development project forwater Tue, 01/03/2023 - 14:10

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This project was an initiative conceived by students from the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka, who started a group called Sparsh in collaboration with Gajani Foundation. The project sought to ensure water security in a coastal village with high saline intrusion. Arghyam‘s role in this project partnership was to promote community rainwater harvesting so as to provide potable water to the people.

Outputs

Around 5 community rainwater harvesting structures were built.
Over Rs. 5 lakh was leveraged from multiple sources

Focus Area

Water security

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

Gajani Foundation

Outreach

100

Duration

Fri, 01/01/2010 - 12:00 - Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/munda-development-project

School rainwater harvesting

forwater — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 08:36:50 +0000

School rainwater harvesting forwater Tue, 01/03/2023 - 14:06

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The Supreme Court ordered that across states, all schools must be provided with toilets and drinking water facilities as part of students’ Right to Education. Arghyam considers sustainable access to safe drinking water an important issue and has promoted it across Karnataka.

This has been done through several methods:

Tackled specific issues of water quantity and quality in schools.
Worked alongside a government scheme (Suvarna Jala) to demonstrate successful methods of participatory, safe and adequate water and sanitation provision in schools.
Supported independent requests from schools for funding rainwater harvesting structures to assist them in providing their students with potable water. To help combat scarcity of safe drinking water a number of measures were undertaken across these five schools. Worked with another funding agency that works on education to build safe water and sanitation into the schools they work in.
In all these initiatives, rainwater harvesting systems were created, an underground storage tank was constructed and children were given hygiene education. Where required, water quality issues were addressed by providing water filters.

Outputs

All schools have been made water secure.
Safe drinking water has been made available.
Quality issues, wherever present, were tackled.
Children provided hygiene education. Several student committees set up with tasks designed to give the children a sense of ownership over the water and sanitation systems.
Governance system put in place to ensure students have more ability to manage the water systems. A School Development and Management Committee SDMC was set up as part of the Suvarna Jala programme with members of the schools who were equipped with necessary knowledge and skills to carry on the project independently.

Focus Area

Water security

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

Centre for Study of Culture and Society (CSCS)

Outreach

Path Alias

/our-works/school-rainwater-harvesting

ASHWAS: A survey of household Water and Sanitation

forwater — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 06:02:48 +0000

ASHWAS: A survey of household Water and Sanitation forwater Tue, 01/03/2023 - 11:32

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In 2008 Arghyam embarked on a year-long programme to gather data about and raise awareness on several water and sanitation issues. These included water quality and quantity, how water was stored, access to water, open defecation and menstrual hygiene. We called the programme ASHWAS, for ‘A Survey of Household Water and Sanitation’, and it ran into 2009.

When the survey concluded, Arghyam’s partner NGOs had visited 17,200 rural households in 28 districts in Karnataka. ASHWAS was instrumental in creating awareness on water and sanitation issues and introduced a participatory approach to deal with these issues. In addition, separate information was collected from Gram Panchayat officials and village elders.

The survey encouraged villagers to participate not only to provide their views on the water and sanitation issues but also to test the quality of water being used from different sources. Water quality testing kits were provided which quickly delivered information about water quality indicators such as nitrates, fluoride and bacteriological contamination.

The findings from ASHWAS provide quantitative feedback on user perceptions of services, information on status, quality, adequacy, distribution, reliability and efficiency of water and sanitation services. The report also highlighted the health and hygiene status and governance issues in light of water and sanitation.

On November 17, 2009 Arghyam received the Bronze Excellence in Information Integrity (EII) Award in non profit category for the ASHWAS project at a function in Illinois, USA.

Outputs

Report card of sampled GPs, highlighting issues, suggesting best practices and include solutions. The objective of the report card was to share the results with the respondents and GPs in order to enhance a shared understanding of the problems. It was hoped that the results and the awareness that the report creates will empower citizens and GPs to make important decisions to enhance the water supply and sanitation situation in their GP.
A state report inclusive of reports on 28 districts intended for the use of district and state level governments, research institutions, advocacy organizations and citizens of Karnataka.
ASHWAS Process Handbook: Planning and execution guide for participatory surveys on household water and sanitation.

Focus Area

Water security

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

BAIF Institute for Rural Development

Outreach

17200

Duration

Tue, 01/01/2008 - 12:00 - Thu, 01/01/2009 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/ashwas-survey-household-water-and-sanitation

Building a scaling ecosystem for natural resource governance through use of technology

forwater — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 07:31:23 +0000

Building a scaling ecosystem for natural resource governance through use of technology forwater Fri, 12/16/2022 - 13:01

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About the Programme

Through Prakriti Karyashala model, the program aimed to enable better governance and restoration of common-pool resources including water resources in 7500 villages benefitting at least 15,00,000 people. It proposed to build the capacity of 2000 program actors, including government functionaries, to create impact at scale. After realizing that it was not feasible to work at scale without pivoting their existing approach, FES ventured into the journey of re-imagining capacity building in their programs and are deploying solutions to enable desired shifts.

With Arghyam’s support to FES, the programme:

Re-imagined the capacity building approach in three different regions (Odisha 3500 villages, Rajasthan 2000 villages, Andhra Pradesh 2000 villages)
Embedded the new approach in the existing funded programmes (OLM-5 districts, ABF-2 districts, HUF-2 districts)
Organised training sessions, provide access to atomised content, deploy attestation application
Resolved issues during implementation through virtual guided mentoring model
Encouraged peer-to-peer learning in virtual mentoring sessions
Monitored progress through dashboards

Focus Area

Participatory Groundwater Management

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

FES

Outreach

1500000

Duration

Wed, 01/01/2020 - 12:00 - Sat, 01/01/2022 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/building-scaling-ecosystem-natural-resource-governance-through-use-technology

Using digital to leverage MGNREGA at scale across Karnataka

fasmin — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 05:56:00 +0000

Using digital to leverage MGNREGA at scale across Karnataka fasmin Mon, 09/19/2022 - 11:26

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The Government of Karnataka has been implementing the ambitious Antarajala Chetana program across the state to improve groundwater levels in rural areas by leveraging Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). During the last year, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) department, Government of Karnataka has started to engage a cadre of women as Grama Kayaka Mitras (GKM) with a monthly remuneration.The state is looking to mobilize and engage with the communities through these GKMs to generate more demand for work under MGNREGS and improve the people’s confidence in the system.

Our partner in Karnataka, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) has been working with the MGNREGS functionaries for over a year to help build the technical capabilities of NREGA functionaries and demonstrate a process for scientific planning through active community participation to improve the quality and durability of the assets to be created. Arghyam has been supporting FES to engage with the State Government, to design and adopt a model for NRM planning at scale.

Overall, FES has enabled the formation of 2100+ village institutions dedicated to managing the ecology and commons in their village, training 2620+ MGNREGS staff including Panchayat Development Officers, Technical Coordinators, Technical Assistants (Civil/ Agriculture/ Horticulture/ Forestry), Barefoot Technicians, Grama Kayaka Mitras and Data Entry Operators. FES has also demonstrated the scientific planning process across 53 taluks in the 8 districts of the state.

The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department has shown interest in adopting learnings from FES and saturating GIS-based planning across all GPs in Karnataka. To carry this forward, the Department has now renamed Antarajala Chetana as Jala Sanjeevini to converge all existing efforts in the state to prepare GIS-based NRM plans. The next year will focus on providing support to the state in designing the program for scale implementation in all the 1600 GPs across 8 districts in the state . Arghyam, FES and Socion will work together with MGNREGS of the rural development department to develop the design, theory of change and data systems necessary to create community led NRM plans and govern the program at scale.

Focus Area

Participatory Groundwater Management

State

Karnataka

Implementing Partner

Vrutti

FES

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department - Karnataka

Socion

Duration

Fri, 01/01/2021 - 12:00 - Sun, 01/01/2023 - 12:00

Path Alias

/our-works/using-digital-leverage-mgnrega-scale-across-karnataka