International Online Training Programme on Preparation of Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) for Caribbean Countries

March 21 - April 1, 2022
Part A (Online): March 21 – 28, 2022 | 12 Hours | Platform: Moodle     
Part B (Virtual): March 29 – April 1, 2022 | 12 Hours | Platform: Zoom | 7:30 – 10:30 AM AST | 5-8 PM IST
Language: English

The School of Water and Waste, CSE in partnership Global Water Partnership (GWP)-Caribbean organized a two partInternational Online Training Programme on “Preparation of Shit Flow Diagrams” for Caribbean Countries. The event focused on providing the practical and hands-on experience on preparation of Shit Flow Diagrams (SFD). The aim of the training was to sensitise and equip practitioners in preparing the SFD Tool, and using it for preparing city-wide sanitation strategies.

Part A (Context setting and Introduction) was held from 21-28 March, 2022 on the CSE Moodle Platform while Part B (Action Learning) the virtual sessions were held from March 29 to 1^st April, 2022. A total of 28 participants from the Caribbean Islands attended the training, representing govt. depts, consultants, planners, researchers and academicians.

During Part A the participants were exposed to basics of SFDs and its evolution through pre-recorded videos and presentations. Participants were introduced to SFDs multi-dimensional use in advocacy, decision-making and outreach programmes across the world. Various case studies were shared with the participants showcasing the use of SFDs for city sanitation planning, faecal sludge management strategies, policy impact and other advocacy measures.

Part B of the training programme was held on the Zoom Platform, with four virtual sessions organised, to provide a virtual hands-on training on using the SFD Tool and Graphic Generator.
Day 1 started with a welcome note for the participants, about the training and about CSE by Dhruv Pasricha.  It was followed by an Introduction of Global Water Partnership by Ms Simone Lewis, Regional Coordinator of GWP-Caribbean. She talked about the vision, mission, initiatives and networks of GWP-Carribean. Mr Christopher Corbin, Programme Officer, UNEP sat the context for the training and explained the need of SFDs in the Caribbean. He explained about the current issues and challenges on the sanitation line and how SFDs can be relevant to diagnose them better in the Caribbean. Following this Dhruv Pasricha gave a brief on India`s SFD journey and role of CSE in it.
Detailed technical sessions started with ‘How to Read an SFD’ taken by Harsh Yadava. This was followed by an interactive brainstorming session where participants deliberated on various aspects of SFDs.

Day 2 was focussed on data collection for preparation of SFDs. At first Harsh Yadava gave an exercise on Data Collection to participants to develop upon their understanding on SFD data required. Various discussions were held regarding the amount of data required for preparing various levels of SFD reports.Later Harsh Yadava presented the various data heads which are needed to prepare an SFD graphic. Discussions on quantification of faecal sludge and wastewater were also held, describing the methods of quantification and its application.

Day 3 focussed on the SFD Graphic Generator on Susana portal. Harsh Yadava gave the practical session to the participants by generating an SFD graphic on the portal with random data sets. The session also enlightened participants on the recent updates on the SFD portal, with global access to data and visualisations at various scales. Following these sessions and discussions, the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) exercise was introduced, in which the participants were given a hypothetical city and data to prepare an SFD. The participants were guided to submit their SFD Graphics as an Assignment on the Moodle Platform

Final day- The participants were scored on the basis of their submission of DIY exercise and the presentation. The participants were able to prepare SFDs for the hypothetical city. They provided the city profile, major issues in the town, quantification details, SFD matrix and graphic in the presentation given as assignment. They also gave brief recommendations for FSM and wastewater management in hypothetical city, based on their respective SFD graphic.

The training was concluded with a detailed feedback session and reflections from the participants on the learnings, way forward. The team from GWP gave a brief on action plan for rolling out SFDs in Caribbean and how CSE’s experience can be utilized to produce quality SFDs.

For more information on the training programme kindly contact:

Training Coordinator(s):

Dhruv Pasricha
Programme Officer - Urban Water & Waste Management, CSE
Mob.: +91 85274 47891
Email: dhruv.pasricha@cseindia.org

Persis Ramirez
Programme Officer
Global Water Partnership - Caribbean
Email: persis.ramirez@gwp-caribbean.org