The big constraint is TIME
Submitted by Reinder on Tue, 11/17/2009 - 02:54
As always during Demotech fieldwork, the big constraint is TIME. The idea is that we can teach in almost no-time. And time and again, I find that this is not the case.
Yesterday late afternoon however there was again such a moment that learning and teaching was so easy. We were at a community center, close to our hotel. Mostly women attended the presentation of the Hy2U. We talked to them in a mix of Amharic and English, fragments of what we said were translated. There was some attention for the video shown on the computer.
But to get real interest only the REAL THING worked: touch, feel, try, see, experience and not US, but THEM talking about the Hy2U. It worked so very much the same as it worked in Humara, a slum area in Nairobi (see to be acquired by learning ...) Our words did not work at such moments, our words are too far away from any experienced reality for the people in this community.
It is us that are addicted to words, and now we have an alternative. It is us that has to learn to teach differently. That alternative is the Hy2U itself. The Hy2U is the real thing that tell stories that are immediately understood.The women take out and mount back the valve and that is the most tricky part of the Hy2U. Experiencing that they can master it, their attention keeps centered on parts and function of the Hy2U, the colorful sleeve with the funny little battens , the thin plastic bag that holds water and the thin strip of rubber that has to be carefully adjusted.
Words do matter again when we plan when to come back. The rules of play within this community now take over. We understand that giving small money incentives to our students is not accepted. When we work with them all work is voluntary, no exception.
Monday we will meet them at the school they run. We will bring the Hy2U's that will be available then, at least six. That will be the start of the most important part of this project, at last to gain user experience.
Up to now we were involved in training how to make the Hy2U, but actual use in the no-piped-water situations it is meant for, there is shamefully little of it. During the short trips in Kenya we did not get that far and non of the many people we trained came back with stories describing actual use.
This time too, time is running out too fast. Only two more weeks left in Hawassa. But now we are better prepared for the one hundred good working Hy2U's we plan to install. We have involved the BoP, the bottom of the pyramid: two tailors are now making sleeves, we search for the second shop that has a wood lathe to make the parts for the valve.
The most active and experienced of our students are prepared to assist and take over our work. They did the explanation at the community meeting, right now they assemble the valve parts that we got back from the wood working shop. Next week we organize a meeting where we invite the many NGO's that work in Hawassa. When we have left, our best students will be able to offer their service as trainer to the clients of these NGO.
As Hawassa is a very pleasant area to work and we received a warm welcome and all support we needed, we discuss coming back and continue cooperation in some time. Next to the Hy2U there is the rope pump. Farmers in this region have many rope pumps in use: the real everyday active in-use of a Demotech design. Coming Sunday a group of teachers of the Water Department of this College will go with us to "hunt" rope pumps. Better and affordable rope pumps without need for govenrment support for sure is an attractive challenge for a next visit.
To end this blog: the roadshow did not came off. I deplore this. Without official permission we could not do this experiment. But we should not give up. With formal backing that now is now so much easier to organize, we should do it next time. The Road Show should become one of Demotech most effective tools.
