MAINTAINING VILLAGE WATER PUMPS BY WOMEN VOLUNTEERS IN BANGLADESH

Sixty-three women in the district of Mirzapur, Bangladesh, were trained as voluntary pump caretakers using 21 Tara handpumps. They received 6 hours classroom training and 2 hours of practical training. When evaluated over a 15-month period the pumps maintained by the women volunteers functioned as well as those maintained by trained pump mechanics. These findings are significant as an indication of how rural water supply can be sustained and integrated with women's own development. © 1991 Oxford University Press.