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 The process of the pilot project...
One of the most innovative components of the project was the process that was used to engage the different partners and the learning-by-doing exercise.

 

The semi-arid region of Brazil has been struggling for several decades to fight against the periodic droughts that affect the region. It was evident for people that it was necessary to change their conditions by improving agricultural practices, food security and income. A study carried out in 2004 found that more than 80 percent of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the smallest municipalities is brought from outside of the district.  The development of agriculture projects that address food security became urgent and set the conditions for this pilot project.

 

The Pintadas Solar Project developed gradually from a structured process to address this need through the engagement of an increasing number of partners. The pilot phase (June 2006-June 2008) was developed to understand the feasibility of specific technological solutions and outline a possible strategy for replication.

 

The first step was to build an initial partnership to clarify the nature of the interest of the different players that wanted to be involved.  The main players were:

  • The Secretary of Agriculture of Pintadas that put the Pintadas Solar project among its priorities to foster small scale agriculture within the municipality 
  • REDEH, an NGO base in Rio de Janeiro, that has  a long experience in contributing to the empowerment of women and communities in the framework of sustainable development

  • SouthSouthNorth, a learning-by-doing organization that  promotes South-South exchange and collaboration in the application of sustainable technologies.

The second step was to assess the needs of the project and  to identify the existing resources that could be mobilized within the partner organizations. A resource mapping exercise was made by all the partners involved through field trip to Pintadas and to other on-going projects within the region to get more inspiration.

 

The third step was to share the learning of every phase of the project implementation among all the partners.  The process has required a rigorous process of registering the learning of the project and sharing them at every step with the community through seminars and bottom-up engagement processes.

 

The fourth step is an on-going activity. Starting from the existing experience, it aims to elaborate and implement a comprehensive strategy that can strengthen the partnership among the different institutions and organizations involved in the project with the objective of creating a self-replication mechanism that wll give small farmers access to efficient irrigation and pumping equipments. The project will achieve its primary objectives by establishing two main support mechanisms to farmers. I) A local capacity building team: The local farmers that have already participated in the piloting phase  will build local capacity by training other farmers on how to install, maintain and operate the systems. This will allow the newcomers to learn from the experience of the farmers already engaged in the piloting phase. II) Partnership with agricultural organizations and technology providers. Agricultural organizations, technology providers and specialized consultants will help building specific  local technical capacity through regular seminars and field work.

A solar photovoltaic water pump in Pintadas.

... and its phases 

Seven pilot irrigation projects were developed through phases that engaged the community in a participatory way through joint technological, social, economic and environmental assessments. 

 

Phase 1: Planning (June 2006-September 2006)

This first phase was organized in steps to understand the specific project needs and to structure a project team that could be both funcional and reliable. The different steps were:

 

1.      Filed trip to successful case studies where similar technologies were already implemented

2.      Understanding in great details the local environmental, social and economical conditions

3.      Identify  local capacity to implement the project

4.      Identify local project managers that were able to champion the project

5.      Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the project and of the local Project Team

6.      Assessment studies and SWOT analysis to reduce risks and maximize opportunities

7.      Define together with the local project managers  what to do and who to involve within the community to achieve the project objectives

8.      Understand the best way to engage the community as a whole from a bottom up perspective

9.      Understand possible mechanisms to multiply the project beyond the piloting phase

 

One of the planning meeting with the local project team.

 

Phase 2: Installation of the technology (September 2006-February 2008)

Once the project had been planned, the second phase consisted in the execution of the project by installing the technology. The systems had to work properly and to be adequate for the local environmental and social conditions. The maximum cost identified by the beneficiaries was of 3,000 EURO per system, including the drip irrigation and the water pump. During the course of the project implementation, the project team had to review the technological solution originally chosen to lower the cost of the technology to allow the beneficiaries to pay back the system. The identification of appropriate technology partners presented a major challenge. A total number of 5 drip irrigation systems and 2 organoponic systems were installed.

 

Installation of one of the drip irrigation kits.

 

Phase 3: Monitoring and sustainability analysis (September 2006-June 2008)

Since the beginning, the project put at its core the sustainability of small-scale technological solutions carried out in communities that have a low degree of mechanization. Such pilot solutions needed to be carefully analysed and their weak points identified to be monitored for a period of time long enough to understand their overall performance. Such performance needed also to be  described and monitored through accurate social, economical, technological and environmental factors and indicators.  Monitoring the project was something new for the beneficiaries. The challenge was to have a consistent process to be able to promote mutual learnings and understand how best to share the information among the project partners. Depending on the type of irrigation system and water pump, the payback time for the system showed to be in the order of 1,5 to 6 years. 

 

Some of the crops have been affected by pests. The understanding of the factors that lead to success has been a key issue for replication.

 

Phase 4: Replication  (June 2008-June 2010)

Replication is a key aspect of the project as it was conceived as a model to understand those factors that allow self-replication o technological systems within the semi-ardi region of Brazil and of the world. The process has been developed in close contact with the beneficiaries and a number of local organizations.