FEBRUARY 2015 SHORT COURSE OPPORTUNITIES

The Centre in conjunction with Department of Water (WRMD) at Mzuzu University invites stakeholders for two short courses focusing on Water supply well guidelines and Low-cost sanitation technologies. Participants should expect to gain both practical and theoretical skills which will address water, hygiene, and sanitation (WASH) needs of Malawi. There will be an emphasis on sustainable systems throughout both programs.

(A). Constructing safe and sustainable groundwater wells – 5 and 6 Feb, 2015 (2 full days)
Water well construction is not for amateurs, but personnel with relevant skills and knowledge. The training course will, therefore, inculcate such skills and knowledge. The focus of the workshop will be minimum requirements for basic protection of the groundwater resource and for the health and safety of those that develop and use the resource. These guidelines are intended to address basic water supply well construction, pumping equipment, and maintenance issues. Water supply wells include wells designed for domestic, municipal, community, industrial, commercial, irrigation and/or livestock water supply use in addition to aquifer storage (injection) and recovery wells. The training course will be facilitated by internationally recognized experts in groundwater management and water supply well construction, Mr. Stephen J. Schneider (Steve) (USA) and Mr. Bob DiFilippo (USA), in partnership with the National Groundwater Association Research and Education Fund. The training will also be co-facilitated by water specialists and academics from Department of Water and WATSAN at Mzuzu University. The course will cover both practical and theoretical skills and concepts. There is a maximum of 100 participants in the short course. Fee per participant is MK150, 000.

(B). Low-cost sanitation technologies – 9, 10 and 11 February 2015 (3 full days)
The focus of the workshop will be low-cost sanitation in support of ending open defecation (OD) in Malawi. The workshop will introduce participants to a variety of WASH solutions suited to rural and Peri-urban areas. A practical exercise will be included to build a corbelled latrine. The workshop will also cover how low-cost sanitation technologies, combined with sanitation marketing, can work alongside participatory methodologies including Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS), Community-Led Urban Environmental Sanitation (CLUES), Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) programs. Additionally, there will be site visits to nearby model areas successfully using low-cost sanitation solutions.There is a maximum of 25 participants in the short course. The course will be facilitated by WASH specialists and academics from Department of Water and WATSAN at Mzuzu University. A waiting list will be formed as needed. Fee per participant is MK150, 000.

Target courses audience:
· WASH Entrepreneurs and Consultants;
· Government Departments (in line with Water, Health, Irrigation etc);
· WASH trainers,
· Groundwater supply wells constructors
· Health, Environmental and Sanitation Officers;
· NGOs focusing on water supply, sanitation and hygiene needs of Malawi; and
· University/College Water/Engineers/Science graduates etc.

Notes:
· The venue for both short courses will be Mzuzu University, Mzuzu, Malawi.
· Registration fees cover course fees, handouts, materials for practicals, morning and afternoon break, and lunch.
· Participants are responsible for their transportation and accommodation arrangements.
· Successful participants will receive a certificate of attendance/recognition and handout materials.
· Participants should come prepared for both theory and practical/field exercises.

Closing date for receiving expressions of interest and for registration is Monday, 26th January, 2015. For enquiries and to register for the course please
e-mail: mzuniwatsan@gmail.com.
Cell:0888 185 588 or 0999 719 101

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Waternet Conference 2014

From 28 October to 1 November 2014, the Waternet Conference 2014 was held in Lilongwe, Malawi. The conference rotates countries each year, and this year it was in Malawi.

The conference brought together water and sanitation researchers from Botswana, Lethoso, Malawi, South African, Mozambique, Tanzania, DRC, Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and more. It was a great opportunity to hear about the research of neighboring counties, lessons learned, and as with any conference good networking.

Mzuzu University had two display tables, one focused more on Centre research and a second for the SMART Centre work on low cost technologies, both of which were well received by attendees.  The team also presented two papers and a special session on low-cost technologies.

Corbelled latrine participatory design training

 

From 21 to 23 October 2014 Mzuzu University trained 36 people from 7 districts including rural public health workers, masons, and government officials in participatory design and corbelled pit latrine technology.

Waterlines, July 2014

Identification of the potential opportunities, barriers, and threats within the sector in taking up sanitation as a business: rural sanitation in Nkhata Bay District (Malawi)

ROCHELLE HOLM, ELIJAH WANDA, VICTOR KASULO

and SIMEON GWAYI

Private sector participation in sanitation marketing provides a great opportunity to improve

rural sanitation access. Although a number of opportunities for private sector participation within the sanitation sector exist, there are numerous barriers and threats to taking up

sanitation as a business. This Note from the Field identifies these opportunities, barriers,

and threats in Nkhata Bay District, a rural area of Malawi. These insights emerge from

a wider research project entitled ‘Private sector participation in the delivery of sanitation

and hygiene services’. This note provides background information on the research project

on private sector participation and the project location. It goes on to describe the data

collection process and present two examples of business activities in the district sanitation

sector, before listing the opportunities, barriers, and threats identified and the recommendations that emerge from them.
For the full paper which is Open Access, visit: http://practicalaction.metapress.com/content/858l2t4077060k05/fulltext.pdf

Vote of thanks to UNICEF

With a huge thanks to our partners at UNICEF the workshop finished being constructed at Mzuzu University to support the low-cost sanitation and water technologies being developed at our Centre.

Please consider coming by soon to see our new building, soon we will also be continuing with the Phase II to include office and classroom space in the coming months.

Low-cost sanitation short course

The Centre invites stakeholders for a short course focusing on low-cost sanitation technologies. Participants should expect to gain both practical and theortical skills which will allow scale-up of low-cost techngologies to address hygiene and sanitation needs of Malawi.
Target course audience: Entrepreneurs, Government (water, health, irrigation) departments, WASH trainers, Health and Sanitation Officers, and NGOs aiming to address water and sanitation needs of Malawi.
Low-cost sanitation
The focus of the workshop will be low-cost sanitation in support of ending open defecation in Malawi.  The workshop will introduce participants to a variety of solutions suited to rural and Peri-urban areas.  A practical exercise will be included to build a corbelled latrine and a skyloo toilet.  The workshop will also cover how low-cost sanitation technologies, combined with sanitation marketing, can work alongside CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation) programs. Additionally, there will be site visits to nearby model areas successfully using low-cost sanitation solutions.

Dates: 26 to 28 August 2014
Fee per participant: MK125,000
Notes:

• The short course will be held at Mzuzu University, Mzuzu, Malawi.
• There is a maximum of 25 participants in the short course.  A waiting list will be formed as needed.
• Participant fee includes short course fees, materials for practical exercises, morning and afternoon tea breaks, and lunch.
• Participants are responsible for their transportation and making accommodation arrangements.
• Successful participants will receive a certificate of attendance and recognition.
• Participants should come prepared for field exercises with a work suit, and ready to get dirty!
  For a registration and more information about the short courses, please e-mail mzuniwatsan@gmail.com

Sustainable sanitation practices, 2014

Identification of funding mechanisms for private sector participation in the provision 

of rural household sanitation facilities, in Nkhata Bay District (Malawi)

The paper identifies funding mechanisms for private sector participation and

provision of rural household sanitation facilities, within Nkhata Bay District, Malawi.

Authors: Rochelle Holm, Victor Kasulo, Elijah Wanda
http://www.ecosan.at/ssp/issue-20-capacity-building/SSP-20_Jul2014.pdf

2014 short course opportunities low-cost irrigation and sanitation technologies

Mzuzu University, located in northern Malawi, was established by an Act of Parliament in May 1997 and admitted its first students in January 1999. In 2009, the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation was established within the Faculty of Environmental Sciences. The Centre oversees African water and sanitation research, which is networking regional water and sanitation work and also training of professionals through Mzuzu University. The primary objective of the Centre is to improve the effectiveness of sanitation, hygiene practices, and water supply interventions serving Malawi and the surrounding countries. The Centre participates in applied research, water quality analysis, training, consultancies, outreach programs, and the practical application of research findings. Mzuzu University offers 21 undergraduate programmes for generic and upgrading students and 9 postgraduate programmes. In 2013, programmes for PhD and Master’s in Sanitation were added.

As an extension of the Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation, there now is a so called SMART Centre with demonstration of a range of low cost technologies and capacity to train local entrepreneurs in water and sanitation technologies with a focus on ‘self supply’. To learn more about the SMART Centre visit http://www.mzuzusmartcentre.com

The Centre invites stakeholders for short courses focusing on two areas (1) Low-cost irrigation and (2) Low cost sanitation. Participants should expect to gain both practical and theortical skills which will allow scale-up of low-cost techngologies to address irrigation potential, water, hygiene and sanitation needs of Malawi.

Target course audience: Entrepreneurs, Government (water, health, irrigation) departments, WASH trainers, Health and Sanitation Officers, and NGOs aiming to address water and sanitation needs of Malawi.

1. Low-cost irrigation
The focus of the workshop will be low-cost irrigation. The workshop will cover irrigation potential in Malawi and an overview of water and hygiene, though a significant portion of time will be spent in practical exercises building two low-cost irrigation systems. Irrigation technologies to be covered include: Irrigation feasibility studies, choice of irrigation method, Rope pump, rain water harvesting as a component of irrigation, small solar pumps and local windmills. There will also be an opportunity for discussion about ecosystem management techniques and site visits to nearby model areas actively using low-cost irrigation water solutions. Two sessions will be offered, and both offer the same quality and depth of information.

Session #1: 15 to 17 July 2014
Session #2: 22 to 24 July 2014
Fee per session per participant: MK125,000

2. Low-cost sanitation
The focus of the workshop will be low-cost sanitation in support of ending open defecation in Malawi. The workshop will introduce participants to a variety of low-cost sanitation solutions suited to rural and periurban areas. A practical exercise will be included to build a corbelled latrine and a skyloo toilet. The workshop will also cover how low-cost sanitation technologies, combined with sanitation marketing, can work alongside CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation) programs. Additionally, there will be site visits to nearby model areas successfully using low-cost sanitation solutions. The two sessions to be presented will offer the same quality and depth of information.
Session #1: 29 to 31 July 2014
Session #2: 5 to 7 August 2014
Fee per session per participant: MK125,000
Notes:

• Short courses will be held at Mzuzu University, Mzuzu, Malawi.
• There is a maximum of 25 participants per session. A waiting list will be formed as needed.
• Participant fee includes short course fees, materials for practical exercises, morning and afternoon tea breaks, and lunch.
• Participants are responsible for their transportation and making accommodation arrangements.
• Successful participants will receive a certificate of attendance and recognition.
• Participants should come prepared for field exercises, and ready to get dirty!
• For a registration and more information about the short courses, please e-mail mzuniwatsan@gmail.com

 

Smart Centre Workshop

With a huge thanks to our partners at UNICEF the workshop is almost finished being constructed at Mzuzu University to support the low-cost sanitation and water technologies being developed at our Centre.  

 

Please consider coming by soon to see our exciting progress, and also the Phase II to include office and classroom space in the coming months.

The 15th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposia

The 15th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposia is: ‘IWRM: An effective response to water-energy-food security challenges under changing climate’ symposium will be held in Lilongwe, Malawi from 29th – 31st October 2014. 

For more information visit: http://www.waternetonline.org/

The Centre will be presenting on the low-cost technologies being promoted, hope to see you there!