We’re delighted to hear Mohamed Majzoub, Practical Action’s Country Director from Sudan, is taking part in Design Triennial, Why Design Now?  with the improved clay stove.

This stove has made a huge impact of the lives of women who daily have to cope with the time-consuming and often dangerous task of collecting firewood. Now, through a combination of using these stoves and fuel saving tips fuel use has been cut in half and the number of violent incidence against women has been significantly reduced.

It’s amazing to realise that a simple technology can change women’s lives so much. We’re hoping that the visitors to Why Design Now? will be equally impressed.

Today we at Practical Action are talking about quite an unusual anniversary, as today marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Thomas Crapper - the man who revolutionised the flushing lavatory.

Yes, we at Practical Action enjoy talking toilets. So the man who invented the ballcock and promoted sanitary plumbing is very exciting to us… and while we all take ‘the toilet’ for granted not everyone around the world is quite so fortunate.

A few years ago I was in Kenya and visited Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. With more than a quarter of a million people living there, it was not unusual to find more than 200 people sharing a pit latrine, which was then often emptied into a river where children played.

The only other alterntive was the beautifully named ‘flying toilet’. Basically this is where people ‘go’ in a bag or on a piece of paper and then throw it out of the home.

When I visted Kibera I was offered their ‘best toilet’ by community leaders, honestly, it made festival toilets seem – and smell – very sophisticated.

The reality though is diseases such as typhoid and cholera thrive in these conditions – children are especially vulnerable with a child dying every 15 seconds from such diseases.

Practical Action has however been working on sanitation for a number of years, and one project which has proved really successful is our shower and toilet block. Basically the waste goes into a thick, concrete chamber, producing methane, which is connected to a water heating system for the showers.

After seeing the ‘toilets’ people were previously using, this was just amazing to see. And one fantastic side effect is because the area is surrounded by a concrete path, the area has become a hive of social activity as women and mothers meet, while giving children somewhere to play.

Ant and Dec visited these toilets when they were in Kenya, you can really see the difference projects such as this make.

Last night I saw on Channel 4, Slumdog Secret Millionaire with my 11-year-old son. Earlier, Channel 4 also showed similar programmes, such as slumming and there was also one on the waste work in slum areas.

While the programme is very well made and brings out some good details, I am not very convinced that it highlights the main causes of such situation in slum areas.

The fact, that millions of people are living in slums in Asia and their number is increasing, is to do mainly with the failure of national and international policies concerned with urban poverty. The main causes may also be to do with the corruption in some countries, poor representation, lack of welfare systems and unequal distribution of powers.

While it is important that Channel 4 viewers are aware of the situation on the ground and motivated to do something directly – such as donate to charity or work for them – it is also important that they understand the links between international development policies, trade policies and the delivery of development programmes. I was expecting that the programme would keep at least five minutes to touch on the larger issues, which may be the causes we need to address in the longer term.

Mansoor Ali
Urban Projects Manager, Practical Action

Further to our earlier reports on the need to rebuild after the earthquake, you might like to know about some direct influence that Practical Action is having in Haiti.

Practical Action Publishing is just about to publish our Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis toolkit (EMMA) – which was commissioned by Oxfam, IRC and InterAction – and is a process adapted from Practical Action’s approach to markets and livelihoods. EMMA was piloted in Haiti in summer of 2008, so is familiar to several agencies there including Red Cross, Oxfam and ACDI/VOCA. One of our early collaborators, Emmet Murphy, is in Haiti (for ACDI/VOCA) and had a narrow escape himself on the road from Port au Prince to Jacmel.

Despite the urgency and desperation around meeting basic survival needs, some agencies are already thinking forward. IRC will be using EMMA to conduct a study around staple food markets and construction materials as soon as is practicable, possibly in collaboration with ACDI/VOCA. Both organisations see a lot of value in the toolkit, and will be putting resources into using it. Mike Albu from our Markets & Livelihoods programme will provide distance-support.

Practical Action technical resources and publications for emergency relief and rebuilding

Haiti is considered as one of the poorest countries in the World and I have been talking a lot about slums in Haiti with our friends in Oxfam.

Practical Action does not work immediately after emergencies. But we have played a significant role in re-building after disasters. Practical Action worked very actively in re-building Sri Lanka after the Tsunami, especially with our owners-driven approach to housing which was adopted by many other organisations. We have been involved in a number of evaluations of post-tsunami work and advised some agencies after the earthquake in Pakistan. Over time Practical Action also developed technical resources, such as earthquake-resistant housing and re-building key services such as water, sanitation and waste collection after disasters.

Recently, we have been working in Zimbabwe to protect people from spread of cholera after rains and floods. Practical Action learnt a lot through this – the approach of supporting and working with others. One of our key pieces of learning is the need to see more clearly the links between disasters and development. Rebuilding efforts, with a more longer term vision could pave the way for a more sustainable development – in this case for millions of poor people in Haiti.

Listening with my family to the news last night we were each touched by the terrible devastation that has hit Haiti and people’s struggle to survive.

My daughter asked if we, Practical Action, were working there? I explained not directly, that our focus is on long term development – sometimes ‘saving lives’ – helping people who maybe haven’t been able to grow enough food or get clean water – but also ‘making lives’ – helping people have the opportunity to help themselves. Indirectly we probably would help in Haiti, providing advice and expertise to the agencies on the ground when they get to the rebuilding stage. Since my language was a bit technical, and even though it wasn’t politically correct, I’m not completely sure she got it! (I haven’t quite mastered teen-speak and in situations like this it is hard to explain.)

One of the realities of international development charities is that the problem is so huge there isn’t enough money to go around.

A second is that news coverage of aid is focused on disasters. Yet, for example smoke, indoor air pollution kills 1.6 million people each year – in tabloid speak, the equivalent of six 2004 tsunamis.

The third reality is that development agencies, surprising to many people, work really well together. We know there isn’t enough money and sometimes we compete to get it but actually, in reality, we value each other’s contribution. Aid is needed desperately for emergencies post-disaster and for longer term development. Practical Action is committed to sharing and we will make sure that our expertise and knowledge is available to those who need it in Haiti and beyond.

Earthquake in Haiti

As Christmas Day came and went five years ago, the world look on in shock as on Boxing Day one of the biggest diasters the world had ever seen struck.

No one could imagine the devastation the 2004 tsunami would leave in its wake; news coverage showed horrific images in the hours following it, then hours rolled into days.

Leaving more than half a million people dead it was almost impossible to imagine what could be done to help communities who lost their homes, families and livelihoods.

Yet work carried out by Practical Action has had a major positive impact on the lives of thousands and thousands of people in Sri Lanka.

While the statistics painted a grim picture; in Sri Lanka alone more than half a million people were displaced, 31,000 people died and thousands more were missing. In addition 150,000 people lost their livelihoods, 25,000 acres of farm land lost due to salinity and 120,000 houses had to be rebuilt.

However through working with more than 120,000 people, people’s lives were transformed in the months following the devastation, by using a mix of traditional and innovative ways to rehabilitate communities, homes and businesses.

We worked with farmers such as Ranjith, with a toddler and a young baby, struggling to grow rice as land became more saline. He told us how his plants stopped yielding rice as his land was too salty. By working with him – and others like him – to grow traditional rice varieties which were saline reisistant, people like Ranjith were able to earn more money. The rice was easier to sell at market and also meant he could pay off loans. And as the rice didn’t need fertisiler or pesticides, he had more money to invest.

Hardest hit was the fishing industry with a third of Sri Lankan fishermen killed and more than 80 per cent of their boats destroyed – which equated to 30,000. By introducing boat building yards to produce high quality canoes, based on these fishermen’s needs, people were able to earn a living. Many boats donated by other organisations after the disaster were often unsuitable and discarded.

By helping to rebuild and repair boats, it meant people could regain their independence, not having to rely on food aid but starting up successful and vital businesses.

One of the charity’s biggest successes was house rebuilding. By using technologies developed by Practical Action and locally available materials, people were trained in how to rebuild their homes. This work led to the charity becoming a finalist in the World Habitat Awards, which recognises practical and innovative solutions to housing needs and problems.

As Vishaka Hidellage, Director, Practical Action Sri Lanka, said: “The 2004 tsunami devastated so many lives, yet people wanted to know what they could do move on to rebuild their lives with pride and dignity. Five years later we are still working with communities; whether it is supporting lagoons and fisheries, paddy farming, or working with people on new enterprises such as dairy or growing new crops, the people of Sri Lanka refused to let this devastating event beat them. While we will all remember what happened with tremendous sadness we will continue to look forward to a brighter future.”

While no one will ever forget the tragic events which unfolded five years ago, Practical Action’s ’small is beautiful’ approach – so appropriate to an organiation founded by Schumacher – along with people’s determination, hope and independence, shows what can be achieved in the face of what may have seemed hopeless to the rest of the world.

We should celebrate what people have achieved in such desperate circumstances, while hoping communities will never have to face such losses ever again. This work still goes on and we regularly hear inspiring stories of how people continue to thrive. Let’s hope this festive period brings joy to people in Sri Lanka and the rest of the world.

RATHER than starting a new decade full of hope, developing countries have been failed by the outcome of the United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen.

In the run up to the summit, hopes were high for a fair and just deal for those most vulnerable to climate change, yet no legally binding deal was agreed.
At the last minute a ‘deal’ was agreed by world leaders, but the ‘Copenhagen Accord’ leaves much to be desired.

The main points include:

• No emission reduction targets for industrialised counties
• No plan for how to implement adaptation support for developing counties
• No timeframe for resolving these issues

It is felt the Copenhagen Cop has put talks back by two years, leaving developing countries not further forward than they were following the Bali talks in 2007, where it was decided 2009 would be the final deadline for a post Kyoto successor.
And while NGOs and key members of country delegations were effectively locked out of the talks or forced to queue for hours, celebrity and rock stars seemingly had easy access to the conference.

This meant experts were unable to scrutinise text coming out of the conference and raise important questions regarding the detail.

This year’s indecision and lack of leadership means millions of people across the world will continue to suffer as climate injustice adversely affects the lives of those who have done little to contribute to the problem.

The Copenhagen climate conference has failed the most vulnerable people.

We hoped that justice would prevail; that in 2009, those responsible for climate change would face up to the crisis looming and act – stop contributing to the problem and start compensating those already suffering. This was has not happened. Fairness and ambition were apparently too much to ask of leaders from the major emitters.

Perversely, when it came to it, the futures of the people vulnerable to climate change were left for an exclusive club of nations to bodge in a backroom. Now we know that they left the science of global warming locked out as well.

The are calling it the ‘Copenhagen Accord’ which the most powerful nations agreed. Discussions are still ongoing, yet the key players have now left the building. The main points are:

• No emission reductions targets for industrialised countries
• No mechansim for adaptation support for developing countries
• No timeframe for resolving these issues

Copenhagen has failed on all aspects of necessity. Two years ago in Bali, the UNFCCC managed to get nations to agree that 2009 would be the final moment for deciding a successor treaty for the Kyoto Protocol. As absurd as it sounds, we are now in a worse position.

Back in Bali, a deal was reached when developing countries pleaded the rich countries to either lead or get out of the way. Last night the richest countries said we’re not ready to lead, and then promptly buggered off leaving this message:

Despite the impacts of climate change already pushing the most vulnerable people in to grave danger, despite the science compelling emissions to peak and decline in the next decade, and despite two years of concerted civil society action to ensure leaders know that Copenhagen 2009 was the final deadline, we are still not ready to act and we will leave millions of people unprepared for the consequences.

It remains to be seen which will come first: action from rich countries, or catastrophic climate change. Many people who rely on the climate to survive will sadly find out the hard way.

Just two weeks before Christmas every year, Human Rights Day is recognised and celebrated across the globe. This is nothing new; it has been happening every year since 1950.

This year the focus is ‘non discrimination’, specifically ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’.

For the last few days I have been taking in as much news as I can from the climate change talks, from the internet, radio, TV or just listening to other people talking about it, it has made me think just how global warming is taking away people’s dignity and rights.

I look at Practical Action’s work and the devastating news we have heard from Kenya as a cruel drought continues to steal livelihoods, livestock and ultimately people’s dignity.

While Practical Action’s team in out in Copenhagen, fighting for a just deal for the world’s poor, it made me wonder how many of the delegates are actually thinking what a deal actually means for people living in extreme poverty, which is worsening as climate change ravages the environment and destroys lives.

We are already hearing media stories of ‘leaked text’ and ’splits between countries over obligations’. The harsh reality is we do not have time for the talks to become more fractious and countries ultimately acting out of self interest.

Let’s make this years Human Rights Day mean something, let’s make sure that we start the new decade giving people the dignity they so rightly deserve.