Permanent shelter
Practical Action
Figure 2: Photo credit: Practical Action South Asia
Engaging the community
Identity and list the most successful strategies used by communities living in
disaster-prone areas.
In consultation with the community, build on indigenous measures to develop
strategies that have already been successful. The following mechanisms are
recommended to integrate community participation in the planning process:
Include both women and men from the community in the assessment,
planning and implementing of housing programmes.
Invite women and men who are leaders in the community to strategic
planning meetings and discussion, to enable a better focus on ground
realities, leading to more targeted strategies.
Identify and plan out the most useful forms of communication that can
highlight and address the needs and concerns of women and men and
marginalised communities such as people with disabilities.
Bring together the different village-level organizations working in the area
and share the focus / mandate of these organizations.
Make sure that community-level practitioners/CBOs secure the involvement
of both women and men in the community in local organisations.
Source: Madhavi Malagoda Ariyabandu and Maithree Wickramasinghe (2003) Gender Dimensions in
Disaster management: A Guide for South Asia, ITDG South Asia Publication
Participatory surveys, processes and analysis aim to create and recognise multiple perspectives
and offset biases by creating a debate about change. Debate about change should generate new
thinking and a readiness to take action.
Remember that
1. Time should be allowed for survey design, testing and adjustment prior to large-scale efforts.
2. Flexible and informal techniques should prevent collection of superfluous detail.
3. Data analysis should be an integral part of fieldwork not something done afterwards or by
others.
4. Collective analysis of the findings from pilot surveys should result in changes to the approach.
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