Learning to cope with flooding
Floods and river erosion in Pakistan and Bangladesh
Kamra village in the Jhang district of Pakistan floods every year. The floods have been made worse in rural areas by Government engineering works to control flooding in the towns. Children are unable to go to school and people cannot market their produce because villages are often cut off from contact for months.
Practical Action worked closely with the community to provide an early warning system of flooding for villagers and to provide safe shelter and access to the village during flood times.
Following a community meeting to set priorities, the villagers started by building a bridge to improve access during the floods. Local people provided labour and materials and were supported by a government grant. A community centre was built in the same way, for use as a place of safety and also for meetings and education.
Notice boards were placed at strategic places in the villages to give information on the water level of the river in an easily understood format. This early warning system means that villagers no longer need to evacuate their homes in a panic, but have time to collect essential items and take them to the community centre.
Many additional benefits have been gained from these improvements. A microcredit scheme has enabled people to start small enterprises such as mat making and the manufacture of feed blocks for cattle from the waste products of the local sugar cane factor.
One of these blocks can feed a buffalo for a week, thus providing an excellent means of supporting cattle when the fields are flooded.
Women are now able to travel to town to attend family events and festivals, instead of being isolated in the villages during the rainy season. Working together as a community has developed many other skills.
Villagers have gained the confidence necessary to negotiate with the local authorities for help from livestock specialists and health professionals. The success of this project has led as Oxfam to replicate it in ten other villages in the region and Practical Action is working with government agencies to use this as a model for other flood prone areas.
Saed Rasool from Kamra says: "With the impetus Practical Action has given we have come together as a community, and have realised our own strength. Now we are able to face floods and tackle village development issues with confidence."
Coping with river erosion in BangladeshIn the Gaibandha district of Bangladesh, hundreds of the poorest families have to survive in basic structures, having lost their previous homes due to increased flooding and erosion.
Shahana and Mohammed Akter and their daughter Soma, have benefited from a new home through the project. Prior to this, their lived with Shahana's father in a house perched precariously on an embankment with no access to clean water. Now Mohammed is trained on the project and his wife has been trained in vegetable production, providing an additional source of income. Shahana told us: "For the first time, we feel safe and secure. The village has good water and sanitation facilities and the cluster layout of the housing encourages a community spirit." Their daughter, Soma, told us: "I remember the bad floods and having to live on the embankment with no fresh water. I never went to school before but now I can and have made many new friends. I want to grow up to be a teacher." More on the award-winning Disappearing Lands River Erosion Project See the impacts of the River Erosion project in this five-minute video from Practical Action Bangladesh |
Practical Action has developed the disappearing lands project to help rebuild the lives of these vulnerable communities through construction of secure housing, the provision of basic service facilities and the facilitation of new livelihood opportunities.