LEP, approaches and engineer's role in community

LEP

LEP stands for Labour-based, Environment-friendly and Participatory approach. It is a development approach for local infrastructure (rural roads, trails, bridges, small irrigation and water supply) that uses local labour as the main resource, causes minimum harm to the environment, and involves the beneficiary community in all stages of the project. Nepal adopted it in the Local Infrastructure Development Policy, 2061 (2004).

• L – Labour-based: local labour is the main resource; light equipment is used only where labour cannot give the required quality (e.g. compaction). Money spent goes to local workers as wages.
• E – Environment-friendly: the work causes minimum damage to nature: balanced cut and fill, no dumping of spoil down slopes, proper drainage, bio-engineering (planting grass, bamboo, shrubs on slopes), gradual construction to let slopes stabilise, and use of local materials.
• P – Participatory: the beneficiaries take part in all stages – selection, planning, design, construction, monitoring, and operation and maintenance – usually through a users' committee, with public hearings and public audits.

Example: green rural roads and trail bridges in Nepal built by local users' committees.

Ethnographic approach

Ethnography is a qualitative research method in which the researcher studies the culture, customs, beliefs, social structure and daily life of a community by living with or closely observing the people over a period of time (participant observation). It describes the community "from the inside".

Methods: participant observation, in-depth and key informant interviews, life histories, informal conversations, field notes, photographs and recordings.

Use in community management:

• Understanding social structure, caste, gender roles and power relations before a project.
• Identifying local customs and taboos that may affect a project (e.g. beliefs about water sources).
• Learning indigenous knowledge and traditional management systems (e.g. guthi, farmer-managed irrigation).
• Designing projects that are culturally acceptable, and avoiding conflict.

Limitations: time consuming, depends on the researcher's skill, may be biased, results not easily generalised.

Participatory approach

The participatory approach is a bottom-up approach in which community members actively take part in need identification, planning, decision making, implementation, monitoring and operation and maintenance.

Tools: PRA, focus group discussion, social and resource mapping, transect walk, wealth ranking, seasonal calendar, Venn diagram.

Use in community management:

• Projects reflect felt needs; local knowledge and resources are used.
• Users' committees manage construction and maintenance.
• Public hearing and public audit ensure transparency.
• Creates ownership, sustainability and empowerment.

Example: community forest user groups and drinking water users' committees in Nepal.

Role of an engineer in community development

• Need assessment with the community using PRA, FGD and mapping.
• Technical planning and design using appropriate, low-cost and maintainable technology.
• Explaining options in simple language so people can decide.
• Facilitating users' committees with inclusion of women and marginalised groups.
• Training and capacity building of local workers and caretakers.
• Mobilising local labour and materials; linking with municipalities, government and donors.
• Supervision and quality control.
• Environmental care: bio-engineering, drainage, minimum cutting.
• Transparency: public hearings, public audits.
• Conflict resolution and handover with an O&M plan.
• Ethical conduct: honesty, safety and public welfare first.