Tools & Frameworks

WOTR has over the years developed its own unique thinking and approach as well as tools and techniques. We have extensively used a variety of frameworks and tools and adapted these to help our understanding of rural dynamics and develop strong and sustainable methodologies and pedagogies.

CASDAAT (Climate Adaptive Sustainable Development Assessment and Adjustment Tool) helps assess vulnerability of resources critical for livelihoods based on the 5 capital approach in the event of climate and market induced disasters.

Vulnerability Assessment Tool (VAT) is developed to assess vulnerabilities of communities in a particular geographical area. It gives ‘indications’ of the vulnerability of communities to the hazard which they are most likely to face. The Vulnerability Assessment exercise shows the relative degree of vulnerability of a particular capital of the area (based on the 5 capitals – Natural, Physical, Social, Human and Financial Capital). It helps gauge the efficacy of current interventions and helps development practitioners focus on and plan appropriate, real-time interventions where needed.

Participatory 3-D Modeling (P3DM) is a planning tool that villagers can use to communicate indigenous spatial knowledge in a digital form that researchers and policymakers commonly recognize. P3DM involves the construction of a scaled relief model of the community domain, onto which village communities can demarcate relevant spatial features pertaining to development needs, such as watershed management, resource conservation, sustainable agriculture, or biodiversity. Through the construction and demarcation of a geo-referenced, scaled relief model, Indigenous communities can extract and display indigenous knowledge in a way that is meaningful not only for policymakers and academics but also to the communities themselves.

Participatory Operational Pedagogy (POP) is a systematic approach to building up the organizational  and social capacities of NGOs and village self-help groups to undertake and eventually up-scale watershed development. It now includes a gender empowerment component as well, which engages and includes women at all stages and levels of the development process.

Participatory Net Planning (PNP) is the most direct, hands-on way for the NGO to support farmers at the grassroots level. NGO planning teams survey a land holding with its owner to collaboratively decide on the optimal soil and water conservation treatments and land use. This improves project efficiency as well as the farmers’ sense of ownership, making for a more sustainable operation.

Qualitative Assessment Matrix (QAM) is a system of indicators such as water table level, income, and number of toilets, which measures each community’s growth as well as its shortcomings. This transparent accounting shows the NGO and village what’s working and what needs improvement in near-real time, while changes can still affect the outcome of the project.

Participatory Impact Monitoring (PIM) is a system of review for villagers to connect their own indicators to their impacts, helping them form a deeper understanding of the mechanics of their socio-economic development.

Peer Group Review (PGR) is an annual exercise in which representatives from participating villages visit each other’s development projects in order to discuss achievements, failures, innovations and best practices. The three most successful villages are publicly felicitated, creating a spirit of healthy competition between the various projects.

Wasundhara Approach: There is a word in Sanskrit called ‘Wasundhara’ which literally can be translated as ‘the earth’ but implies compassion, caring, co-responsibility and harmony. WOTR works on the principles of Wasundhara. The word also implies ‘WOTR is Attentive to Social Unity, Nature, Development and Harmony in Rural Areas’. The ‘Wasundhara’ approach has been implemented in over 200 villages since the last three years with far-reaching impacts. It has resulted in promoting equity, gender sensitivity and sustainable development. The process continues beyond the project period.