Tool 8

TOOL 8. SEEING IS ALSO LEARNING: VILLAGE WALK

To get a physical impression of available water resources and infrastructure and their (multiple) uses in the community.

OBJECTIVE

To get a physical impression of available water resources and infrastructure and their (multiple) uses in the community.

METHOD

The facilitator selects a path to walk through the community to carry out physical observation of points of interest related to multiple-use water services. The walk can be carried out with a group of representatives from the community who can explain relevant aspects of their community.

During the walk, the facilitators will need to note down the following:

  • Physical observations regarding water resources, infrastructure and water use.
  • Qualitative and quantitative information on these, can be added to the developed map, or captured in the table of the village water resources assessment.
  • Informal interviews with people encountered on the way. In many cases, it is useful to have informal talks with households that are visited, or persons accompanying the walk to further dig into examples of how people access and use water.

BASED ON

Tool 5 in: ZIMWASH, 2010. Guidelines for Planning for Water for Livelihoods, Harare: ZIMWASH Project

Tool 4 in: Bolt, E. and Fonseca, C. 2001. Keep it working: a field manual to support community management of rural water supplies,Technical paper series, IRC; no. 36, Delft: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.