Earlier this month the Economist published an article on pay-as-you go solar water supply systems that seem to be working well. To quote from the article: “Since they are paying for it, the women and girls who collect the water also take more care now not to spill any, leaving fewer puddles in which mosquitos can breed. Most important, though, is to fix broken pumps quickly. In Kenya Ms Koehler found villagers were prepared to pay five times as much for water so long as their pumps were fixed within three days, compared with the previous average of 27.” Read More…
One of our members is involved in a church program to convert guns to rope pumps.
The people of Columbia Presbyterian envision a world where devices associated with death are turned into implements that give life. The congregation asked its members and people from the surrounding community to donate guns to the project. These were taken to a local artistic blacksmith who forged a symbolic, working rope pump with wood and metal from the guns.
This project sends a powerful message of peace to people in the United States and will raise funds to meet an urgent need for safe water in Malawi. (video by Laura Grace Bordeaux). For more information or to contribute to this program contact Jim McGill, or Columbia Presbyterian Church, 711 South Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30030
“It is clear that community-based management will not lead to long-term provision of clean water services for poor, rural communities. “…in pursuit of an MDG defined by access to improved water source technologies, a focus on installing infrastructure has arguably been at the expense of putting in place the institutional, operational, and financial arrangements required to keep systems working indefinitely.” Long-term service support is needed…. With a few changes, charitable foundations have the potential to make deep improvements in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in developing countries.” Shifting the emphasis from hardware infrastructure implementation to long-term support will make all the difference. Read More…
Blog post by Robert Chambers on the Community Led Total Sanitation site describes the challenge of getting good information through to users and helping them understand what could really benefit them as opposed to normal practice (which does not). Read More…
RISE is the first global policy scorecard of its kind, grading 111 countries in three areas: energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy. The report is aimed at helping governments assess if they have a policy and regulatory framework in place to drive progress on sustainable energy and pinpoints where more can be done to attract private investments. Read More…
IRC recently posted on a book chapter being prepared addressing issues around progress in WASH, and in particular sanitation. The authors review failure in the sanitation sector and recommend new approaches based on sustainability science. There recommendations fit well with what Transform International is working on what respect to in-country centres. Read more…
