It is not enough to merely take watershed, sustainability and progress to villagers. As long as the project processes remain alien to them, they will not be a part of it; nor can it truly be a part of their lives.
This is why "capacity building" constitutes an integral part of the Kanakanala Watershed Project. The villagers we work with are trained to become self-reliant and technically stable so that they can maintain the ongoing project and make further implementations.
Through various events and interventions, the people of the Kanakanala Watershed area are being helped, trained and guided to optimise their capabilities.
While the primary focus is on helping them acquiring some crucial technical skills, we are also helping them build up a knowledge base on what a watershed project is, how it works, how it benefits them, and so on. When the time comes for SAMUHA to step back and hand over the reins to the village community, they will be able to take on the project, maintain it successfully, and implement changes and improvements.
The Capacity Building programme addresses the villagers in groups, which are formed under the Groups are educated on the various facets of the projects as well as oriented on their roles and responsibilities, and that of the Gram Samsthas (GS) and the Kanakanala Abhivruddhi Samstha (KAS). While thirty four main lessons cover these basics, villagers also learn how to analyse problems and situations in villages under their jurisdiction and practice creative problem solving.
Since the KAS/KAS Executive Committee and project level groups have to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate the project work, they receive additional training to develop management and financial skills. In keeping with our commitment to empower women, the Mahila groups are given rigorous training in all aspects of finance - managerial and analytical. This aims at increasing their participation in the project, and in the larger community. All groups are specifically trained to understand and appreciate the importance of their group in the overall development of their village. The trainers also have to undergo regular sessions to remain updated on different training methods and the latest training modules.
The success of this programme is evident in the fact that the villagers have now come together, unified in the process of problem identification and solving. These groups now get regular bank loans. Bus routes have been established to their villages. They conduct shramadhans, to keep their villages, bus routes and bus stops clean. The Mahila and Yuvathi groups regularly take loans to improve their lives in various ways, and have become active participants in the project.
