Project Examples Overview
The project examples are based upon a series of building blocks called Evidence-Based Best Practices. Each of these Best Practices is a discreet activity – hand washing would be an example. These activities provide effective grassroots solutions to needs identified by rural communities.
These activities have been chosen as technologies that:
- are grassroots
- solve common problems found world-wide
- can be used with little regional adaptation
- can be readily understood by community members
- can be chosen by them for use in their lives
- are low-cost/no-cost, long-lasting and low maintenance
You can either select from individual activities when designing a project, or you can go to Project Examples for project ideas.
Let’s say that a community suggests child health as a priority. In order to get started, you can look under Project Examples where families of complementary activities have been integrated into projects – as in the Example “Diarrhea in Children: What's First?”. In this example are listed a dozen complementary activities organized into a single project:
- Diarrhea in Children: What's First?
- Ten Seed Participatory Needs Assessment Field Notes
- Lesson Plan: Prevent Diarrhea Workshop - for Promoters to use in villages
- Promoting Breastfeeding
- Hand Washing
- Chlorinated water for washing and cleaning
- The SODIS System: Drinking clean water
- Kitchen hygiene & Health
- Oral Rehydration Techniques
- Vitamins and micronutrients
- School campaigns
- Waste disposal
- Recognizing childhood illness
Cumulatively, these activities can greatly reduce the incidence of diarrhea in small children. You may find that your situation is specialized and you may need to drop an activity – or exchange it for a more appropriate one. In this sense, you can use Project Examples as a design framework during the customization of your project.
Each of these Activities:
- Has and evidence basis that it works
- Is low or no cost
- Is readily understood by all stakeholders
- Has Lesson Plans both for training Field Staff and for leading Community Workshops
- Has follow up information
- Has monitoring and evaluation information
- Has links to to additional, practical information and documentation
- Has illustrated How-To cards on evidence-based activities for cimmunity members to keep