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participatory & assessment of ISPWDK Phase-II in three watersheds Executive summary (…) Conducted by a team of all project stakeholders, the review was exceptional that the community members formed the majority within the team. The team comprised, in addition to one external facilitator, one man and one woman from each of the three project watersheds (thus six community members), one NGO partner representatives from each of the three partners (thus three), and one representative of the ISPWDK coordination office, PSMU. The emphasis throughout the review process was on participation. Thus the review team visited each of the watersheds in turn, taking five days in each to hold numerous discussions and participatory appraisal exercises with community members and specific stakeholder groups. In a final meeting at the end of this process, the findings were summarized and agreed. This report also draws from project reports and databases to supplement the team findings. Further, in a separate chapter, it outlines the reflections of the facilitating organizations (the NGO partners and PSMU) on project functioning. “People centred, people initiated, people controlled” has been the guiding philosophy behind the project. The review team found numerous ways in which this was integrated into project design and not only implemented, but sometimes further modified in the field in a people-centred manner. All the people’s institutions supported through the project were found to be performing well, albeit with some variation that is to be expected. The core institution for the project, the Village Development Society, VDS, is now well established in the 14 project villages. The VDS have demonstrated an ability to manage a large volume of project funds in a transparent and accountable manner; over a period of three years (July 2002 – June 2005) each has handled on average some Rs 35 lakh (the smallest VDS had a total financial flow of Rs 10 lakh; the largest volume of funds handled by one VDS is over Rs 55 lakh). The SHGs supported through the project have proven to be a sound base for village development activities. They are now organised into umbrella institutions in each of the watersheds, are a vehicle for womens’ empowerment, with clear plans for attaining sustainability. |
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