From the Lane to the City

24 Pages·2002·0.61 MB·English

From the Lane to the City:
The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s
Low Cost Sanitation Model
A WaterAid report
by Akbar Zaidi
From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
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This report is one of a series which
analyse WaterAid’s experience in
supporting integrated water,
sanitation and hygiene education
projects in developing countries.
Other reports in the series are:
WAMMA: Empowerment in practice
Hitosa Water Supply: A people’s
project
India: Making government funding
work harder
Contracts or Partnerships: Working
through local NGOs in Ghana and
Nepal
WaterAid
Men dig a trench and lay pipes through compacted sewage, earth and rubbish in Prince Consort House
Hassanpura, Faisalabad. 27-29 Albert Embankment
London SE1 7UB
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.wateraid.org.uk
Charity Reg No 288701
Published by WaterAid
London
June 2001
All rights reserved.
Cover Photo: WaterAid/Caroline Penn
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
From the Lane to the City:
The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s
Low Cost Sanitation Model
A WaterAid Report
TAJIKISTAN CHINA
Written by Akbar Zaidi
Edited by Eric Gutierrez and Virginia Roaf Mingora
June 2001
Rawalpindi
AFGHANISTAN
Faisalabad
➛
0 150 300 Kms
N
Contents
Multan
Lodhran
Uch
INDIA
Introduction 4
P A K I S T A N
OPP Principles of Good Practice 8
Karachi
IRAN
Problems of Replication 13
OPP – The Wider Impact 16
Conclusion 19
List of Acronyms and Terms 21
Bibliography 22
Acknowledgements 23
Boxes and Tables
Akhtar Hameed Khan and the OPP’s Growing Influence 12
The Anjuman Samaji Behbood (ASB) Experience in Faisalabad 15
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
Introduction
In 1994, WaterAid started a had radically changed the Orangi education. By 1988, four
relationship with one of Pakistan’s settlement. Gone were the murky, autonomous institutions were in
most influential non-governmental stinking open sewers that place to manage the OPP’s
organisations (NGO) and perhaps crisscrossed the settlement and expanding concerns. The main
the world’s best-known non- which posed considerable health OPP Research and Training
governmental project in the large- and physical hazards to its Institute (OPP-RTI) took charge of
scale provision of sanitation for the residents. Mobility improved the Low Cost Sanitation
urban poor – the Orangi Pilot within the community both for Programme and the Education
Project (OPP). This relationship goods and human traffic, boosting Programme. The Orangi
was primarily aimed at learning home-based enterprises and small- Charitable Trust (OCT) ran the
lessons from the ‘OPP experience,’ scale trading. Infant mortality rate Family Enterprise Economic
and in funding projects to replicate fell from 130 per thousand live Programme that provided cheap
this process inside and outside births in 1982 to 37 per thousand in and readily accessible credit. The
Pakistan. Five years later, as 1991, which was far faster than it Karachi Health and Social
WaterAid was to carry out some had fallen in Karachi or the rest of Development Association
form of assessment of this funding, Pakistan.(Badshah, 1996: 49; and
it received a proposal for a broader Reed and Vines, 1992a:19)4 The
1 The proposal was submitted by the OPP
study on the impact of the OPP.1 availability of cleaner and extended
and the London-based International
Wishing to contribute to an space in front of houses had a
Institute for Environment and Development
independent critical assessment of significant social and recreational
(IIED) in early 1999.
the OPP, WaterAid funded the impact as well. New and relatively
2 Karachi is Pakistan’s economic centre with
broader study, from which this safer play areas for children
a total population of over 9 million
abbreviated report is derived. emerged.5 Women were able to
residents.
move around more freely and be
The OPP started in 1980 in the 3 It is not very clear by how much the OPP
visited by friends and relatives,
depressed and crowded Orangi low-cost sanitation model is cheaper than
leading some to comment that it
settlement, one of Karachi’s2 most other alternatives because of difficulties in
improved marriage prospects for
blighted districts and its largest comparison. However, some studies have
young women.6 Such success has
katchi abadi with a population of 1.2 shown that sewer construction in Orangi
naturally drawn attention from the
million. Led by the renowned Dr are one-seventh the cost compared to those
world over. The OPP experience is, constructed by the Karachi Metropolitan
Akhtar Hameed Khan (see box
in WaterAid and many other Corporation (KMC) due to the
p.12), the OPP evolved in just a few
development agencies’ view, a simplification of the technical design and
years to be a remarkable self-
most impressive demonstration of the elimination of middlemen, contractors
funded, self-administered and self-
just how much urban poor and the pay-off to professionals like
maintained grassroots movement
communities can contribute to the engineers. (Siddiqui and Rashid, 1997).
relying on nothing more than the
development of quite complex 4 The improvement in infant mortality rates
resources and skills of its urban
large-scale infrastructure projects. can be attributed to many factors, including
poor constituents using local
It also presented a challenge to reduction of solid wastes, the reduction of
materials and labour in building
dominant development paradigms children defecating in the streets, etc. But
hundreds of kilometres of
most observers and official sources agree
that are too technical, too reliant on
extremely low-cost underground that the most important factor is the
government and donor support,
sewers.3 By April 2001 these had construction of underground sewers.
and which generally treated poor
benefited 92,184 families in 6,134
communities as simply the objects 5 In the Manzoor Colony where an 8-12 foot
lanes, representing almost 90% of
wide concrete case was built on a 2050-foot
of, rather than the central force of
the entire settlement. There have nala local enthusiasts acquired a continuous
development.
also been 409 collector sewers built, cricket pitch.
and collectively the community Over time, the OPP expanded
6 It is customary in Pakistani society for the
have invested Rs. 82.141 million beyond sanitation provision to
potential husband’s parents and elders to
(£924,000) in their sewerage cover programmes for health, visit the house of their prospective
system. By the late 1980s, the OPP credit, low-cost housing and daughter-in-law.
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(KHASDA) implemented the W
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Infaq Foundation, a Pakistani lin
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The OPP, however, was as
controversial as it was popular.
Despite its ostensible success and
tremendous potential, the ‘OPP
experience’ was perceived not to be
replicable on any serious scale
outside of Karachi. It faced a
number of critics – from
government, the international
donor community, as well as
Pakistani NGOs – who posed a
wide array of arguments that
downplayed and sometimes denied
outright the OPP’s claims to
success. There were critics who
pointed out that the OPP
experience was specific to Orangi.
Orangi has a natural slope, which
made secondary sewer lanes and
collection points dispensable to a
certain extent. Had Orangi been on
flat terrain, the project may have
had to rely on government and
donor support from the outset.
Furthermore, most Orangi
Children cross over the sewage flow in Mansoor colony, Karachi.
householders were acknowledged
owner-occupiers, who had more
community and government was criticism of NGOs that thrive on
incentive and security of tenure
its firm, resolute and active foreign funding which, as a result,
than renters or squatters to invest
rejection of any form of subsidies reinforces development paradigms
their hard-earned income in sewer
or funding for what it termed as that depend on complex, technical
construction. Others say that the
internal7 development work for inputs from highly-paid
OPP was too ‘Dr Khan-centred’,
poor communities. The OPP consultants and organisations
and reliant on his involvement.
stressed that the responsibility to rather than rely on what is
Government engineers and
fund the internal component rests available from communities. The
industry professionals initially
solely with the community. It OPP has in fact developed a
doubted the quality and technical
believes that government or donor reputation for taking on and
standards of the OPP-facilitated
money, when used for internal challenging even international
sewer lines. Some critics look at
development, is a corrupting donor organisations. It called the
sustainability, arguing that OPP-
system that undermines the
initiated community organisations
indigenous and self-motivated
created through this process do not 7 The OPP used the term internalto refer to
initiatives of communities. They
actively continue once construction any form of development work that the
condemned NGOs that readily
work has been completed. people, communities, and lanes are
accept donor money as contractors
supposed to do, while externalrefers to the
But perhaps the main point that who make a business out of
responsibility of government. This is
brought the OPP into conflict with development work. The OPP discussed in the following section of this
a number of NGOs, the donor became known for its consistent report.
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
Urban Basic Services (UBS) Most of the many materials on the longer-term and relatively more
programme – nominated by the OPP are documentation assembled objective perspective. Among
United Nations International by the OPP itself, leading to a others, it argues that the OPP
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as one charge that there is a lack of reliable philosophy is based on simple
of the ‘Best Practices’ projects for information and analysis that can community-centred principles and
the Habitat II conference – a capture, put into context, and practice whose main goal is to
failure, despite its own critically analyse the various make NGOs and outside change
involvement with it. aspects of the ‘OPP experience’. agents peripheral to the
community, that is, that the poor
In 1990, when the OPP-RTI learned A further criticism aimed at the OPP
community is empowered to the
about an Asian Development Bank revolves around how it distanced
point that they could do things on
funded project for Orangi, which itself from the violence that made
their own without relying much on
was ignoring the work the people Karachi one of the most violent and
NGOs, donor organisations or even
had done and was building both divided cities in Asia. This peaked
government.8 The OPP ethic is
internal and external sanitation, it in 1985-86, and was largely
simply to be researchers and
lobbied with the Mayor to adopt localised, with ethnic roots,
facilitators. It does not carry out
the OPP principles. The OPP although there was the significant
development and does not take its
campaigned actively, pointing out involvement of the land mafia that
“model” to the people unless it has
design flaws and technical defects were prevalent in katchi abadis. By
first established substantial links
of the plan while proposing 1988 however, the violence took a
with the community. Thus the OPP
alternatives. As a result, a project more political colour, controlled
appears as a paradox. It does not
that was to cost Rs 1,300 million from areas outside Orangi, and
seek a power agenda, it keeps a
(£14.7 million) was reduced to a involving partisans of factions
non-state, non-party role, and
cost of Rs 36.2 million (£410,000) within the Muhajir Quami
sometimes even identifies itself as a
and 21,866 houses benefited from it Movement (MQM) and the national
non-NGO player in Pakistan’s
and improved community government. Thousands of lives
development matrix. Yet this very
monitoring roles were introduced. were lost in this strife, with curfew
character is what makes it
being imposed on Orangi for days
Further, a major component of the successful and consequently,
on end. The OPP initiated the repair
Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan, the threatening to those who have
and rebuilding of infrastructure
US$70 million (£50 million) ADB power. This explains why it has
after incidents of violence, offering
loan for the Korangi Sewerage become controversial to many
its offices as a place for debate and
Project, was withdrawn altogether development players, and why it
discussion to the leaders of the
due to intense lobbying, creating has fiercely strived to retain its
various ethnic groups. However,
both friends and enemies for the independence.
critics say the OPP should have
OPP both within government and
used its influence to intervene and This study however, is not a full
in donor organisations who were
mitigate the violence. The OPP says evaluation of the OPP. It focuses
embarrassed by the cancellation.
it is precisely its non-interference only on OPPs low-cost sanitation
Critics have charged that the OPP policy, its particular focus on programme, rather than the whole
tends to be ‘rigid in its thinking’ and sanitation, and its non-involvement range of programmes it has
that it is an organisation that does in issues where it has not developed since its inception.
not agree with any analysis, even consolidated expertise, that has These include housing, health,
when not critical, if it does not fit been its source of strength and education and micro-credit. It
their own organisational framework which has made it successful. Until reviews the nature and philosophy
and values. The OPP, they contend, today, the OPP stays away from of the organisation, its technical,
would not accept that transparent issues that do not concern it, and as social and training approaches, the
funds from donor organisations a result, is generally seen in Orangi efforts to replicate it at the micro
may serve a useful purpose. as a non-partisan organisation. level, its effect on the macro policy
What compounds the controversies This study is thus a preliminary
8 This is for the internal components of the
is that analyses on these issues are critical assessment of the Orangi
work; the OPP has always expected that
often difficult to make, because Pilot Project that tries to put the
donor organisations and the government
there have been too few ‘OPP experience’ as well as the would take responsibility for the external
independent studies of the OPP. controversies around it into a components.
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
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Raw sewage and rubbish fill the 200-foot wide drainage creek for Mansoor colony.
level as well as its overall impact in W
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identified and discussed in a long- id
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The study methodology is chiefly nn
based on a thorough review of the
published and unpublished reports
on the OPP; visits to the OPP
project sites in Karachi and the
OPP-advised projects initiated by
other NGOs outside Karachi; and
direct interaction with key people
involved as well as informed
observers. Interviews and focus
group discussions were held in
Pakistan, which included a
participatory assessment and
review of impact sessions
conducted with the concerned
communities in Orangi (Karachi)
and Hasanpura (Faisalabad). E-
mails were sent out to donor
organisations, NGOs, academics,
and professionals for opinions on Mansoor colony after the community laid the drainage system and pavement was put down
the OPP from outside of Pakistan. by the municipal authority.
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
OPP Principles of Good Practice
The Orangi Pilot Project has really A community therefore needs to be whatthey, not the NGO or
done nothing extraordinary in ‘socially prepared’ to embark on a government, consider to be their
terms of implementation, large-scale infrastructure project. priority problems. Formal
intervention or invention. The But there are different physical and socio-economic
considerable success of the Orangi interpretations of ‘social surveys should only be
Pilot Project and its model, are not preparation.’ Certain local supplementary to these
so much its technical innovations, politicians as well as NGOs in dialogues and consultations.
but the nature, philosophy, and Pakistan, for instance, will interpret
• Projects should generally rely on
methodology of the organisation. social preparation in terms of
what is readily available. The
This approach has its roots in the conducting formal socio-economic
community has some of the
community research and extension surveys and using this as a basis
needed resources for
work of OPP’s founder, Dr Akhtar for convincing the national
development but it needs
Hameed Khan, in the rural and government or donor organisations
support to fully use these
agricultural communities of to allocate funds and inaugurate
resources. A survey and
Comilla, East Pakiston (now projects. National governments will
documentation of what exists is
Bangladesh) in the 1960s. This have different ideas of social
useful: physical conditions,
approach, which made Dr Khan a preparation more closely aligned to
social actors and their
well-known development theorist a self-interested local political
relationships, economic
and worker, is based largely on the agenda. The OPP has a more
conditions, technologies in use.
idea of ‘social preparation’ – that altruistic, community-oriented and
How the community tackles the
before development work and community-inspired idea of social
priority problems needs to be
physical infrastructure can be built preparation. Social preparation is
identified and studied. A study
especially in poor communities, guided by a general strategy to
is not needed to identify
there has to be a prerequisite phase promote community organisation
projects, but is required to
of ‘social infrastructure building.’ and self-management, by providing
understand the people, their
Social infrastructure building can social and technical guidance that
processes and relationships, and
be broadly defined, ranging from encourages the mobilisation of
to identify their choices.
basic education, identification and local managerial and financial
Decisions can then be made on
training of local leaders, to complex resources and the practice of co-
whether existing systems could
community consultation operative self-action. Applying
be either improved or whether a
approaches, to setting up and these principles in Orangi was, in
completely new approach is
maintaining actual social many ways, facilitated by the
necessary.
organisations. The social community’s own self-preparation
preparation that the OPP – they were already building • The conceptual plan is a
undertook in Orangi was identified sewers long before the OPP was necessary tool in the process.
as early as 1985 when an evaluation established. The general principles The development of a
wrote, “It is apparent that of the OPPs social preparation, conceptual plan should be based
considerations of external which is not a one-off but a on the following principles:
application relate principally to continuous on-going process division of work into internal
programme approach and through the project, are as follows: and external infrastructure
organisation rather than the type components, component sharing
• Existing local community
and design of sanitation systems,” between the community NGO
organisations are the primary
and that “a totally self-help and/or government, while
and principal players in the
sanitation programme is only making sure that there is no cost
project. They need to be
partly dependent on technical sharing;9 decentralisation of
carefully identified from the
competence. The crucial component functions/technology;
beginning, and a serious,
is the sociological input if successful establishment of the optimum
consistent dialogue with them
implementation is to be achieved relationship between needs,
and general members of the
…” (Abbott and Lumbers, 1985: 30). resources and standards.
community started to identify
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
• Local lane leaders and activists W
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development workers. In each id
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lane there are generally two aro
people identified, who are either lin
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nominated or elected by the Pe
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residents of the lane. They are
accountable to the residents, not
to the OPP, but are given
technical and social support by
the OPP. The two play the
different roles of organiser, who
represents the needs of the
community to the OPP, and a
treasurer who collects and keeps
the money and accounts. The
organiser is generally male, but
the treasurer is frequently a
respected older woman, who has
long-term standing with the
residents.
• Social organisers and technicians
(paid employees of the OPP) are
trained to provide technical
advice, and to motivate the
residents. These people are also
themselves drawn from the
community.10
• Local communities are the
repositories of wealth in
‘traditional knowledge’
developed from daily experience. A metal worker makes steel shuttering for a drain manhole in Hassanpura, Faisalabad.
They can therefore become
‘experts’ in improvisation and
the decision was made by the
innovation. Training should be 9 Component sharing is the separation
community at large to improve on
provided to develop necessary between the internal component which is
the existing technologies, trying the lane sewers and household connections
skills within the community,
this out in lanes which had not yet and the external component, which is the
especially those involving local
installed sewers, rather than trunk sewers and treatment plants, lane
para-professionals and ‘street’
replacing existing sewers. This sewers and the sewers outside the
technicians. Conventionally
resolution was first taken by a community boundaries: the bulk sewers. In
trained professionals such as
couple of brave lane committees, many NGO projects, costs are shared
engineers and architects, should
between the NGO and the community on
and following the successful
preferably not be used as the lane sewers, through subsidies. This is
installation of sewers has now been
alternatives. This will also make not permissible within the OPP approach.
replicated throughout Orangi,
sure that skills for the
either with OPP assistance, or in 10 The concept of identifying activists from
maintenance of the project are
the community who were responsible for
some lanes, residents have been
developed by members of the motivating people in the earlier days of the
inspired by the OPP, but not used
community in the construction project was criticised by more formal
their services. A process of
phase. development consultants, like the UNCHS
community mobilisation in the
chief technical advisor who called them
Following the principle of relying organisation and implementation
‚musclemen’ when differences in approach
on knowledge that already exists, of the project emerges. It is
between him and Dr Khan emerged very
and after extensive consultations, described as follows: early on in the project. (Hasan, 1999: 58)
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From the Lane to the City: The Impact of the Orangi Pilot Project’s Low Cost Sanitation Model
Through social organisers, an initial preparation of a community for on the basis of neighbourhood or
dialogue with the community/lane development. It also informs on key area committees. The lane made
is made. The OPP identifies and technical details on the particular more sense as well given the
then contacts an influential/active practice of NGOs and external sanitation technology used. For
individual with good reputation, agents in grassroots community secondary sewers linking lanes
who in turn contacts the lane development. The OPP considers to the main trunk sewers, a
residents. At this stage, the OPP itself to be primarily a research ‘confederations of lanes’ have
staff arranges a slide show/public organisation whose objective is to been created, to address the
meeting explaining the salient analyse problems and then through needs of a collection of lanes.
features of the low-cost sanitation prolonged action research and
A further principle that needs to be
programme. If the people show extension education, discover viable
clarified is OPPs position on
willingness and submit a written solutions. What differentiates it
funding. As noted earlier, the OPP
request to the OPP, the OPP from other similarly-situated NGOs
philosophy clearly differentiates
surveys the lane and prepares a is the strict observance of the
betweeninternal and external
map and cost estimates of the following operational principles:
components of development. The
sewer line. These documents are
• The OPP does not itself lay the internal component is defined as
handed over to the representative
sewers or physically undertake the tertiary level sewer lines, at the
of the lane who is confirmed by the
the projects. Whilst they provide lane level, while the external
lane residents as their
technical advice and support component is the trunk sewers,
representative/lane manager. The
social organisation, they make removing the effluent from the
lane manager collects money from
sure that those living in the lanes settlement. Funding for the internal
each household as per prescribed
were the very persons component, the OPP maintains, is
contribution and requests the OPP
responsible for managing solely the responsibility of the
to provide technical guidance. The
finances and constructing lane community. It should be
OPP establishes physical levels in
sanitation. All decisions and emphasised that the OPP rejects
the lane and demarcates the
responsibilities on individual matching grants or subsidies as
position of the sewer line. Materials
lane sewers rest with lane people, well – wherein, for example, a
are then purchased by the lane
while the household connection donor provides 50% of the cost and
manager and labour is hired. The
from the latrine to the lane sewer the community shoulders the rest.
work begins. The OPP provides
is the responsibility of the The OPP believes this complete
tools and shuttering and supervises
household owner. The community self-financing for
the entire execution. The lane
community is the client, internal development is the only
manager expects technical co-
responsible for supervising any way to create a far greater sense of
operation and supervision from the
contractor. The OPP role is ownership, a factor that is
OPP while the OPP expects the lane
limited to providing motivation, important in the construction phase
manager would generally manage
technical inputs (surveys, plans and critically important during
the overall process as well as
and cost estimates), and the loan trouble-shooting and maintenance.
facilitate the maintenance of
of construction equipment. The It also ensures that the sanitation
accounts. But it should be stressed
OPP consciously avoid creating system will be used and be
that the lane manager is not
any form or notion of functional.11 The OPP has not only
accountable to OPP and vice versa.
dependence on them by the distanced itself from NGOs and
(Development Consortium, 1998:4)
community. community groups that were
With time, much of the inputs of funded by donors and were
• The OPP support the building of
the OPP in projects are taken over subsidised by non-community
smaller and functional, rather
by local masons and contractors sources, it has also discouraged
than large-scale, social
who have been trained over the some of its partners from taking
organisations. It makes the lane,
years, and by the community itself, funds from donors.12 But the OPP is
with around 20-40 households,
who have learnt by doing and not strictly opposed to donor
the informal unit of
observing. funding. When it is available, they
organisation, rather than
make sure it is used only for the
The Orangi experience is more than following the conventional
external component of the
just a case study on the issues and practice of most NGOs of setting
development, including research
principles around the social up large, formal organisations
and training, and that such funding
10