Gender Equality India Project #16802

Access to Water for 500 Rural Indian Families

by RED International

Project Report | Oct 13, 2015
Learning from the Pilot Project

By Andrew Sinclair | Development Director

The Damaged WaterWheel

One of the points of a pilot project is to learn as part of a process to improve the implementation of the project when it is started in other areas. Sometimes it is hard to get people to tell you when things go wrong. So when we heard that one of the Waterwheels was damaged, although disappointing it was also encouraging that the information was passed back to RED International. It has been harder to find out more information regarding what actually happened but we are working on this. The roads and terrain are very rough in the area where the pilot project is taking place so we knew there would be a lot of wear and tear on the WaterWheels.

With 68 out of 70 WaterWheels now distributed to families, to have one failure is not so surprising. However, we need to use this as an opportunity to learn. We would like to see if there is a way we can get the damaged WaterWheel back to Wello for them to examine. It is clear from the picture that the handle is broken but we were also told that the WaterWheel is leaking so that is more serious.

Because the WaterWheel was part of the pilot project scheme, the damaged WaterWheel was replaced with a new one. We will work with our partners to make sure that they collect as much information as possible when something like this occurs.

Plans are now moving forward for an order of 30 more WaterWheels to be sent to another part of Rajasthan.

This is a learning experience for RED International and our partners as we continue to evaluate how the use of the WaterWheels is impacting the daily lives of the 68 families who have access to them. It is great to have a project worker who is on the ground and has contact with each family at least once a month but it is important to make the most of those interactions. It is good that we are informed when there are problems but we also need to make sure that the positive stories of using a WaterWheel are also collected. Watch this space!

Thank you again for your partnership with us and your support of this project.

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Jul 14, 2015
53 Families now benefiting from WaterWheels

By Andrew Sinclair | Development Director

Launch of WaterWheel Pilot Project

The Rajasthan Pilot Project was launched with local village leaders and officials attending the launch event.

After a year of fundraising, a re-design of the Wello WaterWheel, delays with the manufacturing & testing process for the Version 2.0 WaterWheels, it was very encouraging to hear on 20th April 2015 that 70 WaterWheels had arrived safely in Rajasthan. We were finally ready to roll!

The pilot project launched on 5th May 2015 with 70 bright blue Wello WaterWheels. Our partner had coordinated the logistics with the local team of Community Health Workers (CHWs) so that the launch would coincide with a health camp and hygiene training to help promote the launch and the benefits of using the WaterWheels. This health & hygiene training will be an on-going process. As part of the wider project RED International is supporting further training, and the development & production of materials for the CHW's to use. These training materials for Community Health Workers will be used when introducing the WaterWheels to new groups and communities. They will help beneficiaries understand how to use the WaterWheels effectively to improve their health and hygiene.

The head of our Indian partner's Economic Development team travelled to Rajasthan for the launch. He was very encouraged how the launch went, and the support the event received. The launch was very timely and happened at the height of the Indian summer and so it was very hot. It's a time when women & girls often have to go much further to collect water.

A local project community worker has been appointed to oversee the WaterWheel Project and other economic empowerment initiatives in the area. It will be his responsibility to follow up with each family who have registered to receive a WaterWheel. He will make sure that the initial deposits are paid, and then make sure that the monthly payments are collected. It will take time, but this model means that the original funds given for the cost of the WaterWheel will be recycled. One of the aims of the pilot project is to assess what is the correct level of initial deposit, and monthly payments for families from these rural communities.

At the time of sending this report at least 53 families have registered with the project and have taken a WaterWheel after paying a deposit. We are encouraged by this good initial response. The project worker is planning to travel to other villages to promote the WaterWheels more widely. More demand would require a further order for a new batch of WaterWheels.

It was very encouraging to finally see the Wello WaterWheels being used by the communities they were intended for.

Thank you for your support of this project so far, especially to those who have been with us right from the beginning when we started fundraising last year. The pilot project was launched almost exactly one year after we began the campaign with the Gateway Challenge through GlobalGiving UK.

Please do share this report with your friends. Global Giving have a special Bonus Day on 15th July 2015, when all donations to this project will be matched up to 40%, so it would be a great time to encourage people to support the project and help raise funds so that more families can have access to the WaterWheels.

Thank you again for your partnership and joining us on this journey, there is still a long way to go, with much more to learn, and it would be great if you would come along with us.

Links:

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Apr 21, 2015
Ready to Roll! - the WaterWheels have arrived.

By Andrew Sinclair | Development Director

WaterWheels being counted following delivery

They have arrived at last!

I am very happy and excited to report that the first 70 WaterWheels have now been delivered to the Pilot Project location in Rajasthan, India. So it is official - we are ready to roll!

We heard on Monday that the WaterWheels had completed their journey from Mumbai and that all 70 were delivered and put into secure storage. We received some pictures confirming this today. These are the WaterWheels that your donations have enabled RED International to buy with our Indian partner. Your patience with us through this process is very much appreciated. We had hoped that the WaterWheels would have been delivered much earlier. However, there have been delays with the manufacturing and testing processes. Wello only wanted to ship the WaterWheels when they were happy with their quality, which is understandable.

Our partner in India is now working towards launching the Pilot Project in this area in around two weeks’ time. They are working on the logistics and details for this and coordinating with the Community Health Workers (CHWs) regarding the health camp and hygiene training which will happen alongside the launch of the WaterWheels into this area. The health & hygiene training will be an on-going process and the CHWs will receive further training and support at the end of May 2015.

It is summer time in India and so very hot. Women & girls often have to go much further to collect water. We have heard that at least 25 families have already expressed interest in being able to own a WaterWheel and now that they have finally arrived we hope that the interest will grow!

If there is a large demand then we will need to order more WaterWheels. Our partner will receive the initial deposits people make for the WaterWheels followed by regular monthly payments but it will take time before all the funds are completely recycled.

Thank you again to all of you who have supported the project so far, especially to those who have been with us since the beginning when we started the fundraising campaign almost one year ago. In fact the Pilot Project will be launched almost exactly one year after we began the fundraising campaign with the Gateway Challenge through GlobalGiving UK.

This is really only the beginning, seeing what we have been looking forward to finally start to happen is very exciting. Families in rural India actually having their access to water improved!

Thank you for joining us on this journey, there is still a long way to go, with much more to learn but it would be great if you would come along with us.

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