Successful tailor-made training in Tanzania
A recent letter sent to Nuffic highlighted the spin-off that can come from successful training proposals. The message explained that a TMT-subsidised training-of-trainer project in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania in 2008-2009 has continued to improve, long after the original tailor-made training was concluded.
Affordable sanitation
The funding was provided to SHIPO, the Southern Highlands Participatory Organisation, whose mission is to contribute to the sustainable improvement of the living standard of poor people in Tanzania by supporting self-help projects. SHIPO already provided affordable water pumps and sanitation facilities to local communities after developing a unique concept which local people could afford to buy, but also maintain, using locally available skills and materials.
Obstacle
The biggest obstacle faced was the ability to provide training and coaching for local drillers and local manufacturers of the special low-cost hand pumps. The system meant that groundwater wells were five to ten times cheaper than conventional wells. Given the immense interest in the system, more drilling teams were needed, and existing drillers needed more intensive training and coaching to drill successfully in differing geologies.
Training of trainers
The motivation was there, the people were available, and the funding provided by Nuffic ensured that SHIPO could train fifteen new drilling trainers. These trainers could then pass on the specialised hand drilling techniques needed, as well as the basic skills and attitudes trainees need to establish themselves.
Focus on training and coaching
Johanna van Nieuwenhuizen of Nuffic’s Capacity Building department commented on the success of this project: “It’s fantastic that this project has had a greater impact than was envisaged in the original TMT training proposal. The focus on ongoing training and coaching of the trainers, the people who use the pumps, but also coaching the equipment manufacturers was the real key to the level of success achieved.”
Access to clean water
This project also led to the establishment of the SHIPO Training Centre, which has in turn ensured that the impact of the TMT-subsidised project was felt as far afield as Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Congo and Angola. As a result, more than 50,000 people now have access to clean water, and local businesses are happy to share their skills through the Training Centre.