Tonga: Participatory approaches for rainwater harvesting

For many low-lying Pacific Islands, rainwater is the primary, and in some cases only source of freshwater. Very often the amount of water available for use is limited by the amount of storage and the quality of water is compromised by a lack of knowledge and understanding of how to operate and maintain rainwater harvesting systems.

In 2004 a Rainwater Harvesting Demonstration project was implemented by the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in collaboration with the Tonga Community Development Trust (TCDT) in Vava’u, Tonga. It aimed to improve the availability of safe water through the construction of storage tanks in the villages of Utungake and Matamaka through their Village Women’s Development Programme (VWDP).

Before construction began, social and technical surveys including household questionnaires were carried out in the communities. The social survey executed through the VWDP allowed the programme to identify issues and constraints of using rainwater harvesting for the domestic use of water, while the technical survey assisted in deciding on appropriate designs and size of new tanks, and in defining the components for water quality testing and operation and maintenance.

Why use a participatory approach?

The social survey showed that the tasks of women and men differed significantly related to the management of their domestic water supply. Whereas the men were almost exclusively responsible for repairing tanks, gutters and buying and installing equipment, the women were in charge of the tank’s surroundings (including, for instance, gardening) and of paying bills. Tasks undertaken by both women and men included the collection and transportation of water, laundry and cooking.

Local partners involved in the implementation of the demonstration project indicated that the focus of earlier Rainwater Harvesting programmes was very often restricted to the hardware of tanks and gutters with little attention paid to long-term sustainability. As many cases in the Pacific have shown, providing only technical information does not lead to well maintained rainwater harvesting systems, nor does it ensure behavioural change. By contrast, the demonstration project decided to use a participatory approach.

What was done?

A Training of Trainers workshop was organised with TCDT and VWDP extension officers to strengthen their capacity to apply participatory approaches in the implementation of the Rainwater Harvesting programme. Participatory workshops were then organised in both villages. These assisted community members and the NGO to address both technical and social factors, recognising the importance of tapping into the existing knowledge, expertise and skills of men, women and youth.

Through participatory exercises, participants examined the different tasks and responsibilities of women, men and children in relation to water, something that had not often been considered before. The important connection between water safety and health was another new component in the rainwater harvesting programme.

The participatory approach, which included brainstorming sessions and role play, empowered the community in two important ways. It enabled women to participate in water resources planning and decision-making, with the result that both women and men were involved in learning by doing. Secondly community members (both women and men) were able to undertake the analysis, decision-making and problem solving themselves. This led to community members starting to make the link between the operation and maintenance of the rainwater harvesting systems, the resulting water quality and the health of community members.”

Results

After the construction of rainwater harvesting tanks in both villages, a participatory evaluation of the programme found that residents of both villages felt that a burden had been lifted from them as they no longer had to worry so much about where to get water. They also felt that the general health of the community had improved and activities such as cooking, washing, cleaning and gardening had been made easier. Some families reported being able to expand their vegetable gardens and to raise more animals.

As a demonstration project, an important focus was to capture lessons learnt and to develop training manuals and guidelines. This information is being disseminated throughout the Pacific region with the aim of promoting rainwater harvesting as an option for domestic water supply and to make these systems sustainable.

The Training of Trainers workshop and the resulting DVD, manual and guidelines “Harvesting the Heavens” was a very initial step in this process. Additional experiences should be carefully monitored. The guidelines can be downloaded here and the manual is available here