A short note describing BIOME's interventions in Government Schools

1. Biome Environmental Trust
Address: # 264, 6th Main, 6th Block, BEL Layout, Near Vidyaranyapura Police Station,
Vidyaranyapura, Bangalore 560097.
Rainwater harvesting for schools
A tool for water literacy and water resilience
WaterAid’s Global Strategy 2015-2020, Everyone, everywhere 2030, draws attention to
the needless death of 500,000 children annually from diseases caused by a lack of safe
water, sanitation and hygiene. Many other research studies also show that lack of toilets
and unhygienic conditions force adolescent girl students to stay away from schools.
Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focuses on Water, Sanitation and
Hygiene (WASH) and emphasizes on universal and equitable access to safe and affordable
drinking water and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene by 2030. In India, the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) focus
on universal, free education and provision of water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure
in all schools. The Swach Bharat Mission (SBM) which aims to end open defecation by
2019 has a special sub campaign focusing on Schools called Swach Vidyalaya Abhiyan
(SVA).
Furthermore, Biome Environmental Trusts’ (Biome) experience of engaging with
government schools in Karnataka suggests that many schools presently do not have a
reliable source of water for drinking and other use. Moreover, the existing infrastructure
is either broken or designed inappropriately such that accessing the infrastructure is
problematic. This creates further problems during operation and maintenance of the
infrastructure. With the experience that Biome has in this area, Biome proposes that
engagement with the schools in the community as a good entry point to evolve into a
potential larger community engagement.

2. Biome Environmental Trust
Address: # 264, 6th Main, 6th Block, BEL Layout, Near Vidyaranyapura Police Station,
Vidyaranyapura, Bangalore 560097.
Therefore, rainwater harvesting (RWH) in this programme is thought to be a multi-
pronged approach and not only a design intervention:
• RWH is but an entry point to engage with the school on the larger issues: water,
sanitation, hygiene and nutrition.
• RWH as a tool to improve education on water and sanitation
• Addressing the water and sanitation infrastructure within schools
The school rooftop rainwater harvesting system seeks to provide a source of water for all
purpose such as toilet flushing, cooking, handwash before eating and after toilet use,
hygiene and finally if the rainwater is treated well for drinking purpose.
The earlier experiences of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in the State suggest that unless
the ownership of the system is developed, the sustenance of the system is erratic. Thus,
Biome encourages the engagement to be as participatory and as local as possible. And
therefore, the process of engagement will be as below:
• Create participatory pathways for implementing rainwater harvesting in schools
by engaging the teacher, students and other important stakeholders such as SDMC
(School development management committee) members.
• Improve understanding of safe water and sanitation practices in the school
through an activity based, audio visual engagement with school teachers and
students
• Improve the existing infrastructure, especially toilets for boys and girls in the
school rendered dysfunctional
• Develop volunteer driven engagement
• Embed basic sustainability principles in the school through an activity based
approach
To summarize, the larger question one is trying to address with this intervention is, “How
do we create value for these systems and embed water conservation values?” in the minds
of young ones and the school stakeholders.