1. What were the strong and weak points of the methodology used? How can it be improved?

a. Strong points

• Always on time
• Each lecture or field activity was very focused on the theme
• Field visits and communication with farmers
• Conducting workshops by farmers-measurements at field. This increased the confidence and learning by doing.
• Facilitators are from the same area (farmers and others)
• The visit and actual interaction with farmers at the GMC, HUN and NGN levels
• The strong points were the use of socio-cultural groups to dramatise some aspects of the course while distinct visual aids gave a very vivid picture of subject matter.
• It is the strong point that during the field work sessions, participant could be able to interact with farmers, farmer groups, and civil society institutions and experience different processes being utilized to facilitate demand side management of groundwater.
• The methodology used was very much appropriate and with the time frame and bulk of issues envisaged I was satisfied.
• The methodology used was just appropriate.
• Participants can interact and discuss with farmers
• The methodology was good
• Easy to learn and understand.
• Sharing of experiences
• Discussion between participants
• Methodology was appropriate
• Field trips, interaction with stakeholders and attending meetings with them, ample opportunity for questions and answers, private interactions with faculty members
• Quite participatory, allowed great interaction among participants
• Lectures supplemented by field visits
• Participants had great learning opportunities to interact with farmers, facilitators and resource persons.

b. Weak points

• Short time for lunch on some days (that is not good for digestion)
• It would be good to have more time for direct contact with farmers and NGOs team.
• Limited exercises on the application of learning including presentation of outputs by participants to have it more of a workshop and not just classroom lectures.
• Long journey and loss of time. Always change the schedule.
• Short time for each session

c. Suggestions for improvement

• Provide more table work, (e.g. application of learning) for the participants to encourage more participation.
• It would have been still better if we could talk to the farmers one to one rather than through interpreters
• It would have been better to observe the FWS and PHM activities in real situations rather than in simulated meetings
• More energizers to be integrated within the learning process

2.Please comment on the logistics, cultural and extra-curricular activities

General comments

• Excellent arrangements were put in place.
• Everything was fine, though the schedule was a bit hectic, it was necessary
• There was no problem of logistics throughout the workshop.
• Excellent logistics
• I appreciate the warm welcome extended by the WWI, BIRDS and farmers. WWI and others’ readiness to attend to participants any time they needed their assistance.

a. Logistics

• Logistics very well organized. The drivers are not so careful. This scares a little as people are not used to this traffic. Only one small accident happened, but its worth to travel with a careful driver.
• Cars are comfortable
• Food is available as well as drinks
• Farmers were there on time, good arrangement with farmers
• Time management was rather poor, but may be that cannot be avoided in big groups
• Good
• Almost adequate.
• The logistics were OK.
• No TV in the room and no internet at BIRDS
• Food was spicy
• Location of workshop outside city or town was good for less distraction and more focus

b. Cultural activities and visits

• Excellent activities, mainly the kalajatha
• Cultural and extra-curricular activities were undertaken to showcase indigenous cultures. Visits to temples, waterfall, highlands and farms were also undertaken. We have had fun and are now more knowledgeable about India and her people.
• The kalajatha and other grassroot drama sketches added colour.
• Good
• Properly provided
• Could be improved
• Please make the program for the culture visit more than this.
• Good. It integrated participants to appreciate the culture, lifestyle and hospitality of the Indian people

c. Extra-curricular activities

• Some days the programme finished too late, and we went to dinner only after 9 pm, this left little time for integration activities, even short ones.
• Had there been more time we could have had more fun and games
• The dance presentations by school children were most enjoyable.
• Good
• Properly provided
• Could be more interactive

3. Please give your comments and suggestions regarding the session contents and presentations.

• In general the contents and presentations were very good. It would be good having some time for discussions in groups in more presentation. (we had some in the first few days’ sessions)
• Well done. Should be disseminated to other extants (countries and international bodies)
• The contents were satisfactory enough to achieve the objectives of the workshop. However, the participants should be given more actual application exercises to make the session really a workshop and not just classroom lectures.
• Some ice breakers, energizers could have been used, but again time was a constraint
• Most times the contents were very adequate and gave information on subject matter and more. Presentations were done through electronic media with many illustrations to enable easy visualization of subject matter.
• The following topics need to be included:
  

  Optimum well design of existing bore holes
  Groundwater flow direction of project area
  To include evaporation and evapo-transpiration rates in recharge calculation
  Step Drawdown Test calculation

• Content of the issues raised during the workshop were precisely prepared and most of the presentations were presented in a way that every participant could follow and answers given during presentation were helpful.
• The contents and presentations were just right given the length of the course. Sunday was utilised to help cover all that was necessary. However some improvements can still be done to cover what the participants voiced during the workshop.
• In the beginning, please have an orientation about India such as culture, political etc. For the field visits, please provide maps.
• Need more resource materials for the contents, presentations were good.
• Generally the contents and presentations were excellent. However, I would like to see that the incentives on agricultural inputs given to the farmers to be part of the deal to conserve groundwater resources.
• The contents are rich and covers wide spectrum of demand side groundwater management from theory to practice. The field trips made it more understandable. All the presentations were very good especially the question and answer forum.
• Presentations were well prepared in advance and contents were very clear. Examples were relevant, and there was great/wider knowledge about the subject.

4. Were you able to have substantial discussions with other participants?

All 16 participants said “Yes”

The following comments were made by a few:

• Yes, but not at the desired level. We were 16 participants, some more shy. We actually had little free time for deeper discussions. One suggestion is more group discussions during session. This kind of activity helps a lot in keeping in touch.
• Very well
• To some extent, but may be it was because I am not very sociable. Yet had a lot of exchange of experiences and views
• Yes, at most times.
• Yes. I learned experiences from other countries, social interaction, shared common issues and interests.
• Yes, with great interaction and experience sharing. However language barrier to some participants was seen to be a constraint.

5. Were you able to meet and have substantial discussions with the resource persons during the course of the session and/or workshop?

15 participants said “yes”. One said “no”.
A few made the following comments:

• Yes, even with a short free time, I could have some good discussions although they were not as substantial as it could be.
• Very well and accessible 24 hours.
• I did learn a lot from the lectures and had discussions with a few
• Yes, all the time
• Yes. All resource persons were very responsive to all questions and interacted cordially with me.
• Yes. Most of the resource persons were available to take questions and extend discussions even after the workshop hours with exception of a few who were to travel after their sessions.

6. Do you feel you have a better understanding of demand side management of groundwater after this workshop? Please elaborate.

 All 16 participants answered “yes”. These are the comments:

• The concept of demand side management was new to for me, and it adds different perspectives on participatory management concept prevailing in Brazilian water resource policy. In the present case (Andhra Pradesh Farmers) the user participation on management initiates since the calculation of demand / availability through planning and monitoring, they are not merely receivers of information from technocrats.
• Yes, the workshop included almost all parts of the topic, lecturing, field trips and exercises.
• Yes, the workshop has provided me better understanding of demand side management of groundwater in terms of concepts, the key players that should undertake such management and process of implementing these strategies.
• Oh! Definitely widened my scope of knowledge and skills. Lots of exchange of ideas and experiences.
• Yes, we have heard, we have seen and we have participated, both at classroom level as well as with farmers at farm and community levels.
• Yes, this learning workshop comprises of thematic discussions, groupwork, presentations, project work and field work.
• Yes, because in my country though water user association is in place in some areas, but we do not have experience in demand side management for groundwater. This workshop certainly conveyed this message
• My understanding of DSGM is very improved. During this workshop I have perceived many concepts related to the water management and especially in groundwater use.
• Yes. People have been addressing the supply side of groundwater taking the demand side for granted. Less water can be used to meet the needs of beneficiaries, the farmers.
• Yes. I do. The successful implementation of demand side management was done by users, farmers.
• Yes. I can bring the concepts of demand side groundwater management to apply in my work and distribute the knowledge and technologies to other persons.
• Yes. The practice of sustainable agriculture using water saving techniques, empowering and capacity development of farmers, gender equity in water management, institutional arrangements and coordination of farmers as scientists and researchers.
• Yes. I have learned the basic concepts of institutional arrangements, now I am in a better position to engage my community on estimation of groundwater recharge, draft, and water budgeting and saving concepts.

7. Do you feel that you have strengthened your skills to enable you to make positive changes in your work? Please explain.

All 16 participants answered “yes”. These are the comments:

• My current work hired me to “watershed management” eight months ago, but until now it has demanded from me “hydrological modeling” skills and some monitoring. They do not have tradition in water management, but they have a good staff qualified in soil survey and research. After the workshop I believe that it will be possible to prepare joint projects aiming to support farmers’ concerns regarding water resources in a self-learning perspective.
• FWS is a revolutionary idea. Modules were very helpful for easy classification and simulation. Simplification of the issue is another important issue.
• Particularly on empowering farmers and in the creating an enabling environment at the grassroots level.
• Social mobilization skills and new ideas of networking and coordination etc.
• We have built up capacity to do so and will do so.
• I have got much knowledge and technologies which would be able to make positive changes in my work
• The methodology used in the project to solve issues of groundwater management can be beneficial for me and my institute to bring about changes in my work
• This will help me to make a linkage between water use, specially groundwater management, and the upcoming climate change in several zone where there is strong water vulnerability.
• I will be able to introduce other aspects of farmer needs like use of organic fertilizer and water saving initiatives in the projects we fund.
• I received new experiences from this learning about farmer and scientist. It means that farmers can be the scientists by themselves with support and knowledge from experts.
• Yes for the following: for water saving, can use drip, sprinkler, piped system; for strong coordination; for capacity building of farmers; for gender equity.
• I have been able to learn new ways and approach to tackle the issues of groundwater management from multiple perspectives.
• Through the knowledge and experience gained from this workshop, I am now capable of confidently engaging the community with/on issues related to demand side management of groundwater. Specifically I will mainstream the groundwater management concept on training curriculum for the farmer groups we work with.

8. Do you feel that the workshop was a fruitful experience for you? Please elaborate.  

• Yes. The workshop provided an opportunity to know valuable concepts in participatory methodologies, not only theoretically, but also to see “practice”, how professionals in different areas of information work together to facilitate farmers learning through “hands-on techniques”. The contact with this experience encourages us to seek an improvement in our professional action in such a way that our projects might contribute to farmers’ self-learning. The contact and experiences exchange with professionals of governmental institutions from different countries (south-south exchange) showed our common problems, different perspectives, and how each nation deals with these questions. This provides also an opportunity to initiate a fruitful cooperation (collaboration) based on knowledge exchange.
• Yes, it will be beneficial for my country in the long run.
• We get in contact with farmers, explaining to us the way they perform their monitoring, actions on feedback, decision on cropping pattern, meetings and presentations, discussions, calculating the balance and crop water requirement.
• It was indeed a fruitful experience as it provided me better concepts of the demand side management of groundwater. That such efforts could be done through proper institutional arrangements in which partner NGOs, experts and farmers could be brought together towards common objectives, empowerment of farmers who play a great role in the demand side management of groundwater. The workshop provide me new learning that empowerment of farmers could be achieved through various strategies and tools. Among them are: conduct of FWS, PHM, hydro-ecosystem analysis, CWB, and introduction of water balance within a hydrological unit. The visit and interaction that we had with farmers who belong to GMC, HUN, and NGN provided me a good impression that there are good opportunities for them to be trained and be a part of a total effort on sustainable groundwater management.
• Indeed, it was a great experience. Though groundwater is not really relevant to Bhutan, it’s the common resource management that farmers collectively should manage. I learned a lot on the social mobilization and farmer institutionalization aspects of groundwater which can be applicable in an NRM.
• Yes, this has been a most rewarding experience for me. I hope to make a difference in my workplace in Nigeria when I resume work next week.
• Yes, the field that are covered during the learning workshop include social and management issues of groundwater, PHM, quality issues in groundwater, global overview of groundwater development and management, CWB, institutions of water management, gender and water, conflicts in groundwater management, groundwater laws and the importance of regulatory framework
• Yes. Both theoretically and practically (field observations) were beneficial for me to a great extent. Specially interacting with NGOs and farmers provided me new approach, which I can adapt and implement in my work in Iran. The institutional arrangement of the groundwater management is a bottom-up approach and two way approach as well. Through this project I have learned how the stakeholders can save water, recover water depletion and at the same time shift from high water consuming to low water consuming crops.
• The workshop was very fruitful experience. It allowed me to discover the real practice in other country and shows me the new opportunity in groundwater management as an alternative to arid conditions.
• It was very fruitful. Demystifying science was most interesting. Things that scientists assume are beyond the comprehension of illiterate farmers can be simplified and implemented by the beneficiaries as in this case of demand side groundwater management. Cost of input can be drastically reduced if appropriate traditional initiatives can be improved.
• Yes. I will apply the knowledge and my experience from this learning workshop to my country. Example: how to teach the farmer to understand natural resources by use of folk culture? How to make the farmer establish strong organization? How can the farmer do sustainable groundwater management?
• I understand how to form GMC, HUN and NGN, do CWB, do water saving, gender equity, PHM and kalajatha.
• Yes. It was a fruitful experience for me. I have never seen a project execution in this fashion (an NGO led project initiative) and this has inculcated the need for me to collaborate/partner with others in achieving sustainable management of this precious resource. This has broadened my view about groundwater management as a multi-disciplinary task. Also the need to tackle this issue from DOWN to UP rather than the reverse that is usually done in my country.
• Very fruitful. It provided a great opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with participants from different countries. It created an opportunity to learn more from highly experienced water resources personnel, mainly through lectures, discussions and sharing during lectures. It also created an avenue to learn to share practically with farmers who are already practicing groundwater management techniques.

Scores Scale

SESSION SCORES

Day One: 30 th July 2007, Monday, Venue: Alankrita

Day Two: 31 st July 2007, Tuesday, Venue: Alankrita

Day Three: 1 st August 2007, Wednesday, Venue: Alankrita

Day Four: 2 nd August 2007, Thursday, Venue: Alankrita

Day Five: 3 rd August 2007, Friday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Six: 4 th August 2007, Saturday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Seven: 5 th August 2007, Sunday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Eight: 6 th August 2007, Monday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Nine: 7 th August 2007, Tuesday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Ten: 8 th August 2007, Wednesday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Eleven: 9 th August 2007, Thursday, Venue: BIRDS campus

Day Twelve: 10 th August 2007, Friday, Venue: BIRDS campus