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Capacity Building - Shelter in Orissa |
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Here was a situation where there was a need (Demand) for affordable and appropriate building materials ,mechanisms and processes to create the delivery (Supply) chain and ensure its sustainability to fulfil long term needs. Supply was to be addressed through technology demonstration and transfer, whereas Demand was to be addressed through demonstration and awareness creation, with the crucial links in the chain provided by Capacity Building measures. Targeted families( about 1400 ) would be provided with Core houses, which would not only serve the immediate need of secure shelter but also serve to demonstrate the effectiveness and appropriateness of the technologies and capacity of the supply chain to deliver. Preliminary need assessment studies revealed an existing supply chain comprising labourers, masons, petty contractors, dealers, vendors, distributors etc who were concentrated around the district or block headquarters and other major villages. Virtually non-existent connectivity in terms of roads or waterways made access to materials and skills difficult and a very expensive proposition. The market could not fulfil the demands of building materials posed by the mammoth reconstruction measures. As a result, prices went spiralling up, quality took a plunge and the chasm between demand and supply continued to become deeper and wider. At the same time, people had realized the vulnerability of their homes and observed the resistance of’ concrete houses. Misinformation about the irrational design of concrete houses prevailed among a completely unaware population, as petty contractors and even semi-skilled labourers who became masons overnight were being sought after. The "Ashraya" project sought to address the key issues in the supply chain, namely, availability, access and quality by setting up Building Materials and Services Banks (BMSBs) close to the targeted population. These are sourcing and production centres from where building materials and elements flow to reach every village and hamlet of the district. These are run by local organisations employing local skilled and unskilled labour and are open to the public so that they are always aware of the "why" and the "How" of production as well as construction. The
project initiated to addressing these aspects with a major capacity In the context of the project ,having set up the BMSBs and providing information to families was never going to be enough, the crucial link connecting the two had to be developed, built and reinforced. This crucial link " Delivery" and the way it is affected is what sets the project apart. The delivery vehicles are local NGOs with established bases and track record of having worked with the people in the area and who will be present after DA withdraws from the field. These NGOs have been identified and strengthened to perform the various activities required in the execution of a large housing project. Some of the major partners run and own the BMSBs while others source materials, elements and construction skills. Capacity building of these NGO’s at various levels in management, finance, production, construction, logistics, quality control, procurement, monitoring and supervision has taken place. Today about 750 people are directly associated with the project everyday and about 500 houses have already been built and handed over. Large numbers of manpower at various levels have been trained: about 500 masons in construction technologies, about 100 skilled technicians in production, about 250 odd in unskilled production related jobs, 100 odd people in supervision and monitoring, about 50 people in management and finance, about 25 engineers and other graduates in program management and about 600 families have had their capacities built to make better and informed choices. A Technology Workshop
A two day workshop titled "Products, Technologies and Services Selection workshop" was organised by the Arupa Mission’s Research Foundation( AMRF) on September 3-4 at Bhubaneswar. The workshop was facilitated by Development Alternatives (DA) who are the technical backstoppers to the project and was sponsored by GTZ.. The Chief Guest at the workshop was Shri. Biswabhusan Harichandan, Hon’ble Minister Revenue & law, Govt of Orissa. The workshop was very well attended, with dignitaries from HUDCO, RRL-Bhubaneswar, OSDMA, UN House, OUAT and representatives from different NGOs and other building centers. A few Engineers ,Architects practising in Bhubaneswar and some Management students also participated in the workshop. The DA Orissa team conducted the workshop and the whole exercise was very well received by the participants. The success of these initiatives will be measured by whether the sustainability or rather the continuity of the process has been achieved as a result of capacity building. It is therefore crucial that towards the end of the project, we make an appraisal of the capacity building initiatives, adopt corrective measures if any, reinforce existing initiatives and plan for long term ones such that the process becomes sustainable. The BMSB’s ,it is expected, will turn into commercially viable enterprises serving the long term needs of the population and it will be most appropriate if Development Alternatives continues to support these BMSB’s and others over a longer period. q The
author is project co-ordinator of |
unleashed on
the eastern coast of Orissa in an unprecedented manner and the
resulting loss of life and property was beyond human comprehension.
In March, representatives of CARE-India, approached Development
Alternatives to help propose a rehabilitation and reconstruction
project in Orissa. Several brainstorming sessions resulted in the
formulation of a project called "Ashraya", which was seen
as an extension of their ongoing efforts to disseminate Cost
Effective and Environmental Friendly (CEEF) building materials on a
large scale as part of the Building Materials Project supported by
the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
building initiative. The targeted beneficiary families organised
into Village Construction Teams are taught all about the basics of
construction technology including materials and building elements.
They are taught why more cement is not necessarily more strength,
they are taught how to measure quantities, supervise construction
and above all how to recognize quality. They are being exposed to
the different alternatives available for every component of their
house so that they have a greater understanding and hold over the
construction of their houses. It was envisaged that a Mobile
Building Center would be put in place to provide for greater
awareness amongst the larger population, but this did not take off
due to various reasons.
Recently,
DA has launched an initiative to strengthen two building centres
being run by the Arupanand Mission Research Foundation in Kujang and
Ersama blocks of Jagatsingpur district in Orissa. This GTZ (Deutsche
Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit) supported project aims
to make the centres more responsive to the needs of poor home
builders and is targeted at training rural youth, including women,
to become role players in awareness generation and delivery.