Capacity Building

At DACAAR, we believe that communities should have the skills and tools to take control of their own development process. Our vision is an Afghanistan where all communities have the ability to independently withstand periods of calamity and stress.
National Solidarity Program (NSP)
A central part of our capacity building focuses on our role as a facilitator of the National Solidarity Program (NSP). Created in 2003 by the Afghan government, the programme aims to address the needs of rural Afghan communities through a participatory approach. DACAAR has been involved in the establishment of democratically elected Community Development Councils (CDCs) for each village, made up of both men and women, and providing them with training in accounting, community management skills, minute taking and chairing meetings. The eventual aim is that such organisations will become local governing bodies allowing villagers to interact directly with governmental authorities and other external agencies. In 2008 alone DACAAR worked with 1,101 Community Development Councils across seven provinces.
Vocational training and the long-term sustainability of projects
Recognising that rural communities rely on a broad range of agrarian and non-agrarian income sources in order to survive, we help build their capacities in order to diversify rural economies, at the same time as raising income levels. One such capacity building scheme is the vocational training offered in a variety of trades, including carpentry, tailoring, embroidery, and welding.Click here to meet 20-year old Lal Mohamed along with other beneficiaries of our vocational training activities.
We also work with rural women to give them the skills and confidence necessary to be active participants in communities and set up their own small businesses. Members are taught business planning and social organising, which are skills central to the day-to-day running of WRCs. This allows centres to become self-sufficient, thus ensuring their long-term sustainability. Read more about our work with Women's Resource Centres.
Moreover, we build the capacity of beneficiary communities to ensure that, when our projects are over, communities have the skills and expertise to carry on the work themselves. As an example, with every water pump we install, community based maintenance systems are established. A caretaker is identified and trained to be responsible for the functioning of the water point on a daily basis. For each 50 to 100 water points, we also train a hand pump mechanic and provide him with tools and a bicycle.

















