For the success of any field level interventions, presence of strong leaders to take initiatives and act as source of motivation for others at the grassroots level become absolutely necessary. Experiences of working with a few organizations or individuals which are trying to create models of grassroots leadership have demonstrated that such efforts do reap rich rewards. Based on such fruitful experiences Arghyam wanted to support such models of leadership on a larger scale. Thus, the idea to develop leaders from the local communities was conceived and Arghyam initiated its first Small Grants Programme with Mr. Farhad Contractor of Sambhaav and Mr. Anupam Mishra of Gandhi Peace Foundation.

Arghyam anchored the 'Urban Water theme at the India Urban Conference 2011: Evidence and Experience' held at Mysore during November 17-20, 2011. The conference organised by Janaagraha, Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS) and Yale University, created a platform for multi-stakeholder and cross-regional deliberations on the challenges and opportunities that face urban India.

Water supply in rural areas has been the primary responsibility of the state. To this end, the state through the department of rural water supply ensures water availability through various means. The most common is the ubiquitous hand pump that is installed in villages based upon the population and demand for water. Government also provides water through stand posts at certain locations within the village. In non electrified villages, innovations such as gravity based water supply systems havebeen very successful. This technology is applicable in undulating terrains.

Arghyam conducted a survey - called ASHWAS - of citizen’s perceptions of domestic water and sanitation among 17,200 rural households in Karnataka during 2008-09. It was truly a participatory effort involving more than a dozen organizations and hundreds of people.  Following ASHWAS, several organizations expressed interest in conducting an ASHWAS-like exercise. Hence, we decided to put down our experiences and lessons learnt in form of a handbook, titled “ASHWAS Process Handbook: Planning and Execution Guide for Participatory Surveys of Household Water and Sanitation”.

Civil Society inputs on rural water and sanitation for the 12th Five Year Plan's appraoch paper were submitted to the Planning Commission of India on December 24, 2010. These recommendations emerged from the consultations oganised by Arghyam and WaterAid during November-December 2010. [National meeting in Delhi (Dec 13-14, 2010) and the regional meetings (Bangalore, Ranchi, Ahmedabad, Nainital, Bhopal and Guwhati) during November-December 2010].

The third newsletter of the Grants Team at Arghyam attempts to capture the importance of engaging local communities in water sector initiatives. The newsletter examines the following examples where such community mobilisation has worked:

1.Gravity based spring water supply systems in Andhra Pradesh: lessons and steps in community participation
2.Community managed toilets – a lesson in public-public partnerships
3.Reviving traditional water harvesting structures in Rajasthan

An advocacy flyer authored by Arghyam and PLC Shillong to highlight some of the main problems, action underway and potential solutions to cleaning up the water bodies of Shillong. The rivers Umkrah and Umshyrpi that flow through Shillong are victims of expanding human habitats and escalating socio-economic activities. As a result, they have become choked with sewage and pollution, which eventually enter Lake Umiam, which is a reservoir for hydro-electric power.

Arghyam is partnering with Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, and Akvo on a unique project WATER CUBE, during the Stockholm World Water Week.&nb

The second newsletter of the Grants Team at Arghyam captures learnings from our evaluation of model schools - 17 schools in which a network of NGO partners assisted in providing safe water by building on the Suvarna Jala Yojana and demonstrating best practices. Click here to download.

This document is the culmination of research and discussions on the experiences of civil society organisations implementing sustainable sanitation campaigns in six Indian states. The initiatives featured in the book indicate that a typical campaign spread over three to five years comprises four distinct phases and involves a series of activities described in this book.