Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Abulug ARB Coop learn to build CPWASH facilities



In the rural areas of the Philippines, the local government units usually operate systems that deliver potable water to their constituents, either directly through their engineering department or through community-based organizations (CBOs) such cooperatives, BAWASA, etc. CBOs usually operate water supply systems (Level I and Level II, then convert later to Level III) with support from the national government or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, experience have shown that where the service is carried out directly by the local government unit, it is characterized by a severe lack of technical, financial, or management capabilities, and eventually prone to breakdowns due to lack of resources to maintain the same.

Another challenge facing ARB households is the burden brought by unsafe water sources which is a source of waterborne diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms that most commonly are transmitted in contaminated fresh water. Infection commonly results during bathing, washing, drinking, food preparation, or the consumption of contaminated food. Various forms of waterborne diarrheal disease probably are the most common examples and affect mainly children in the community. Data from World Health Organization showed that such diseases account for an estimated 4.1% of the total global burden of disease, and cause about 1.8 million human deaths every year. The World Health Organization estimates that 88% of that burden is attributable to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene. ("Burden of disease and cost-effectiveness estimates." World Health Organization)

Hence, The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Provincial Office of Cagayan, the Local Government Unit of Abulug and the Golden Harvest Cluster Multi-Purpose Cooperative (GHCMPC) have jointly implemented a Community-Managed Potable Water Supply and Sanitation (CPWASH) Project at Riverside Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) in barangay Canayun, Abulug, Cagayan.

The project aimed to enhance the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) and their household members’ access to potable water and sanitation services to improve the water supply and sanitation situation in the ARC through low-cost, culturally acceptable and appropriate technologies that can be managed and sustained by the community.

Under the project, DARPO-Cagayan provided technical advisory services, including mentoring, logistics support, conducted information dissemination on the PCWASH project processes, continuous provision  of  social infrastructure and local capability building activities to enable the participants to manage the operate and project.

The LGU-Abulug  also allocated and provided the amount of fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000) as counterpart for the construction of the water and sanitation demonstration projects in the identified project sites in the community.

The Golden Harvest Cluster Multi-Purpose Cooperative provided the necessary labor requirements during the construction/installation of the demo PWSS project as its project counterpart. It created  a Water Supply and Sanitation (WASH) committee from among the members of the cooperative to ensure the sustainable management of the facilities as an additional cooperative enterprise/service to its members.

The Community-Managed Potable Water Supply and Sanitation (CPWASH) Project involved three days of lectures that taught the ARBs how to build the  Bio-sand filter, Iron-removal filter and a Bio-gas digester, plus another six days in the hands-on construction of the same. 

The bio-sand filter strains water using sand and small stones (grabita) placed in a container with a faucet. It is portable and can be used  for one single household only. The iron-removal filter is made of concrete, enclosed and placed permanently in one site preferably beside the source of water, such as the water pump. It is used to remove odour and muddy colour by using charcoal. It can serve around twenty households.  The bio-gas digester is made of concrete  and is used as septic vault for human and animal manure. With proper disposal of wastes, it can produce methane gas similar to the liquefied petroleum gas for cooking, which can drastically reduce household expenses.

The project is being managed by the cooperative and is responsible in the identification and selection of project recipients, monitoring, sustainability and replication of the project in other areas as an additional business enterprise. /cds

No comments:

Republic Act No. 9700: Once a CLOA, always a CLOA title.

  A lot of people who desire to buy agricultural lands often ask: Can a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), which is also a TCT titl...