The 3-day Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop focused on creating awareness of rainwater harvesting, engaging stakeholders, and installing a pilot system. Over 150 students and community members participated in activities on water and its importance. Representatives from 56 schools discussed water issues and rainwater harvesting system design. An advisory clinic provided design recommendations based on school details. Participants toured the installed system to understand technical components. Next steps include two additional workshops, training on water conservation, and a phased statewide implementation starting with 100-130 pilot schools.

1. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting
Workshop Report
18-20 Apr 2017

2. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Report - 18-20 Apr 2017
Contents
Introduction 3
Project Background 3
Key Stakeholders 3
The Workshop 4
Planning for Workshops 4
Day -1 - 17 Apr 2017 —Site planning 4
Day 0 – 18 Apr 2017 —Community Engagement and Student Learning 4
Day 1— 19 Apr 2017 - Inauguration Ceremony and Group Discussions 4
Day 2— 20 Apr 2017 - Advisory Clinic and Walk Around Tour of Rainwater Harvesting System 5
Key Observations 5
Technical Observation 5
Next steps - Proposal 6
Remaining Two Water Workshops 6
Training on water conservation 6
Implementation of the project 6
Phases of Implementation 7
Taking Project Puchki Forward 7
Appendices 7
Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Album 7
Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop School Rep Breakout Session Summary 7
Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop - System Sizing for Participating Schools 7
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3. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Report - 18-20 Apr 2017
Introduction
On April 18th-20th 2017, the first of three rainwater harvesting workshops, as proposed by earth&us to address
water issues at schools, was carried out in Umthli SSA Lower Primary School in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. The main
objective of the workshop was to create awareness about the viability and suitability of rainwater harvesting systems
in communities and villages of Meghalaya through pilot installations in schools and to impart technical knowhow in
installation and maintenance to all stakeholders involved.
The objective was achieved via the following actions
● Educating school students and staff about importance of water and its conservation.
● Engaging all stakeholders and encouraging them to participate during the design of the system
● Installation of rainwater harvesting system in a scientific manner.
● Ensuring that the stakeholders are responsible for maintenance of the system.
● Setting up model RWH implementation processes and guidance that can be taken up for further roll out
beyond the schools.
Project Background
In October 2015, earth&us organized a two-day workshop on Water Management in schools for the SEMAM (SSA).
The workshop was attended by 75 school staff. The resource people at the workshop included representatives from
the Water Resource Department, Underground Water Resource Department and the PHE Department.
The main objective of this meeting to explore possibilities for how to ensure water provision at all 11,350 schools in
the state and how this programme can be taken at a war footing through convergence of resources across
departments.
Upon surveying all schools in Meghalaya, it has been discovered that 1,311 schools need rainwater harvesting
systems to have access to water.
Since the last workshop, various discussions have been held with state departments of SSA, Planning Commission,
Planning, MBDA, PHE and Water Resources. On 6​th
March 2017, a multi stakeholder meeting was organized by the
Planning Department where it was suggested that the schools needing water provision will be get a system through
convergence of funding. The cost for 1,311 schools has been estimated to be in the range of 42 crore rupees.
To kickstart the process, earth&us was requested to organize 3 workshops where a rainwater harvesting is installed
in a school that needs it and the workshop is attended by school representatives from the block that need a
rainwater harvesting system. The workshop had the objectives as outlined above. This report is the summary of the
first worksop.
Key Stakeholders
The stakeholders are comprised of representatives from - School staff from identified schools; Planning Commission;
Water Resources Department; Meghalaya Education Department; Meghalaya Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA);
Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA); BIOME; Local communities and earth&us
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4. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Report - 18-20 Apr 2017
The Workshop
Planning for Workshops
Preparation​—This included short listing of schools, transportation, logistics, invitations and transportation. earth&us,
Meghalaya Water Resources Department and Education Department jointly coordinated this part.
Identifying school and dates for workshops​—Biome, Water Resources and SSA jointly visited 3 schools to identify a
school best suited to conduct the workshop. The selected school was Umthli Ssa Lps 17060800304, Khadarshnong -
Laitkroh ,East Khasi Hills. The date for the workshop was proposed by the Planning Department
Invitations for Workshop — earth&us and SSA shortlisted personnel to be invited for workshop. They included
representatives from 56 schools in the block that are facing water shortage at the school. Also, key personnel from
the Water Resources Department, BIOME, MBDA and Planning Commission were invited.
Day -1 - 17 Apr 2017 —Site planning
The work on the system began one week in advance. Earth&us, Biome, Water Resources team visited to ensure that
the work is progressing well and is in line with the needs and usage pattern of the school. Three important things
were observed: 1. the strong connection of community with their only source of water i.e. spring, 2. Plumbing/Tap
connection is not a part of the day to day life of most of the villagers, So there were no trace of any local plumber. 3.
A well maintained spring was found within 200m of the school. So it was decided that the school will continue to use
the nearby spring for cooking purpose( and drinking purpose if required, as most of them carry water from home),
thus keeping the connection with the traditional and important water source alive.
Day 0 – 18 Apr 2017 —Community Engagement and Student Learning
The first day of the workshop was focused on engaging with the local community, school staff, village leaders,
parents and school children. Over 150 students and 25 members from the local community were present along with
representatives from the Water Resources Department, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, PHE Department
and Education Department.
The students were divided by age group and engaged in activities related to the importance of water, its
conservation and amount of water they use along with simple measurement technique. A combination of techniques
such as fun games, story-telling, stories through visuals, experiments, small group exercises and discussions were
used.
Parallel discussions were held with the village community, school staff and rainwater harvesting experts BIOME
regarding prevailing water issues at the school, technical knowhow in installation & maintenance, how the new
system will be operated and who will take charge of ongoing maintenance of the school.
Day 1— 19 Apr 2017 - Inauguration Ceremony and Group Discussions
The inauguration ceremony was attended by all key stakeholders including chief guest Dr Tiwari, Secretary of
Planning and representatives from 56 schools in the Khadarshnong – Laitkroh block of East Khasi Hills district. After
the inauguration ceremony, the school representatives were divided among 4 groups and detailed discussions were
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5. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Report - 18-20 Apr 2017
held regarding their water consumption patterns, requirements for storage for toilets, drinking & cooking and
understanding various components of a rainwater harvesting system.
Discussions were also held on water conservation and water contamination. Tippy tap hand washing stations and
water-saving utensil washing stations were setup to create awareness on alternate methods of water conservation.
Day 2— 20 Apr 2017 - Advisory Clinic and Walk Around Tour of Rainwater Harvesting System
Representatives from each of the 56 schools brought pictures along with dimensions of their school’s roofs to the
advisory clinics to seek advice on implementation of rainwater harvesting system. This information along with the
number of students was used in customizing the design of the system depending on the needs of the school.
Interestingly, many of representatives have brought the additional data on demand estimation, which reflected the
takeaway of previous day's discussion/learning. Some of them also rendered critical data about unsuitability of
springs during rainy season as the water gets mucky. The data was then compiled into a report and submitted to the
Planning Commission, MBDA and Water Resources Department.
After the clinic, the school representatives were taken on a tour of the school to understand the technical aspects of
a rainwater harvesting system including components such as storage tanks, filtration systems, plumbing, roofs and
channeling. They have brought some critical points on water quality and it's usage, e.g. the quality of rainwater which
is collected from corroded metal sheeted roof/it is safe for consumption.
Key Observations
● There is dire need, hence demand for RWH systems at schools and the schools authorities have shown
keen interest in operating and maintaining the systems.
● The need of Rainwater harvesting is important for the lean period of Nov - Mid-April , particularly
Feb/Mar/Apr as the key vulnerable periods and RWH as a solution for these vulnerable times, considering
the rainfall pattern and yield of spring in East Khasi district. Even springs tend to become lean during this
time. However for other districts, there might be additional parameter to consider which would be known
during the engagement with community.
● Rainwater Harvesting is equally important during the rainy season as spring tends to get mucky due to
interference of surface flow of rainwater in discharge zone of spring. In addition, the road to fetch water
often turns slippery in rainy season.
● It is important that the link with the existing sources of water - springs and streams - is kept alive at
schools by sourcing some water particularly for drinking and cooking from them. This will ensure that the
coming generations continue to look after these sources and protect them. The rest of the water demand
for washing and hygiene related needs can be met from RWH systems.
Technical Observation
● Plumbing in household level is a rare practice in villages, especially the villages which are yet to receive
water supply from PHE. This resulted in plumbing not taken as a regular vocation. For rainwater
harvesting in schools to be successful creation of local plumbers will be important for future maintenance
of the system.
● Roof sloping and creation of parapets is not instinctive practice. The duo has important role in RWH, for
the roof to be converted to effective catchment zone. These will also have additional benefit of avoiding
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6. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Report - 18-20 Apr 2017
water stagnation in roof, thus avoiding seepage.
● Rainwater harvesting is not a new concept for the community or the children. At household level during
rainy season water is stored in small barrels for water collection which last till the rain lasts. The key is the
required resource to create enough storage for potable water in lean period.
Next steps - Proposal
Remaining Two Water Workshops
The next two workshops can be held at the same time during the next visit. These could be done consecutively
during the first week of June 2017. As East Khasi District receives moderate rainfall during may, So the feedback of
the usage of the system in May month in Umthli school will be of important to have.
Training on water conservation
- Includes water saving hand washing and dish washing techniques like it was done in the first workshop.
- Depending on time availability, a brief hands on session in planting water treatment flora can be done at
the exit of wash area of utensils and handwash. This is to educate students on reuse of water and avoiding
spring contamination from wastewater.
- Soap making workshop can also be conducted.
Implementation of the project
There are two component in installing the future rainwater harvesting systems and ensuring their maintenance. One,
the “hardware” consisting materials for making the system. Two, the participation of stakeholders and beneficiaries.
The participation will mean engaging the children, teachers, community, local plumbers, SSA associates to
understand the need, getting input for customized design, till implementation. This will help in building sense of
ownership to ensure continuity and maintenance of the system. The above "soft" component of the program is as
critical if not more than the "hardware" component which usually gets only preference. So in order to create the
“soft” or crucial part of rainwater harvesting implementation, the foremost task is to creation of "armies" at three
levels. before/during the pilot phase of the project preparation of following human resources is important:
a. A team from education dept, water resource dept. along with other depts (e.g. Puchki interns) as seen fit who can
(a) trigger and mobilise participation from schools broadly as done in this workshop (b) has expertise in RWH design
(c) has a capacity to create conversations with schools to co-design the system with school local stakeholders. To
train a "Master training team" at state level, who can then train teams perhaps at block or district levels.
b. Creation of the plumber teams at block/district levels. Initial set of plumber teams can be trained by experts+the
Plumber team who has complete the RWH of Umthli school. Then the above master training team + the first set of
plumber teams can train the rest. The plumber teams can be at block/ district levels.
c. Every school has a student-teacher combination of a water management team/water manager who will take
ownership and management at the school level. This is for both maintenance and appropriate use of rainwater and
ensuring that rainwater is stored and used when most necessary and used judiciously, If required to set a rule for
daily rationing of water. The Teams created in (a) above has to have this conversation with schools. They have to use
the plumber teams created in (b) above for regular maintenance issues. Schools should ensure some minimal funds
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7. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Report - 18-20 Apr 2017
for maintenance are allocated in their budgets or through Village/school management councils/committees.
Phases of Implementation
Meghalaya has 43-blocks across 11-districts. It is advisable to take 100-130 schools in the first year as a pitot phase.
That would mean doing 2-3 schools per block (depending on the size of the block). This is to treat the first year as a
learning phase to reflect on both shortcomings and positive points in process of engagement and implementation.
Also this 1st year shall be utilised for:
(a) Focusing on training efforts. During each implementation in the 1st year there can be a CIC (Cluster Information
Centre) level team for both plumbing training and soft-skill training. People involved in school inspection shall also
be a part of this.
(b) The above training team to watch out for and monitor the problems and usage in schools during the first year of
operations of these sample schools. They maintain logs for the same and facilitate for any maintenance requirement.
Thereafter, use the experience of the first year in terms of learnings/monitoring to strategize for the full "scale"
implementation.
Taking Project Puchki Forward
“Puchki” - ‘the little one’ has become the voice of change for 19320 children in Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam,
where our interns have been working for the last few months. 5 of our interns have covered 133 schools in
Meghalaya, where they equipped the children with knowledge of water & soil conservation and menstrual health
management. Project Puchki has also received a lot of positive feedback from teachers, students, government
officials and it has been covered by the press. We will be representing ONGC with Project Puchki at the Department
of Public Enterprises CSR Fair to be held in Delhi.
Not only the children, but also the interns who we trained expressed their gratitude towards this program. Many of
them believe that this has been an exceptional experience for them. In order to take this program forward and reach
as many children as we can, we believe it would be a good idea to train the green volunteers to become master
trainers of RWH systems and sustainable living and help them implement it in many more schools, as well as monitor
their work and the progress that is taking place. We can also empower them with all the content we have developed
so that they can carry this project forward independently! The Puchki facilitators can also be entrusted with the role
of involving the children for the Rain-Water Harvesting design.
Appendices
Please see attached the following as separate files.
Please do not print them
1. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Album
2. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop School Rep Breakout Session Summary
3. Meghalaya Rainwater Harvesting Workshop - System Sizing for Participating Schools
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