Developing disaster risk reduction skills among informal construction workers in Nepal

Abstract

Capacity development has become an embedded component of the aid package offered by international organisations responding to humanitarian crises. The effectiveness of capacity development is, however, rarely monitored or examined. What is more, the local context and the learning preferences of trainees appear often to be overlooked. Yet, the informal construction sector is thriving throughout the world. Using a case study of Nepal, where construction and post-earthquake reconstruction projects are largely delivered by the informal construction sector, this paper analyses, therefore, how and whether informal construction workers successfully develop capacity and utilise trainings to create more disaster-resilient buildings. It goes on to assess how one can draw on the learning preferences of Nepalese construction workers to improve the effectiveness and the sustainability of capacity development initiatives. Lastly, the paper highlights that training programmes informed by the context and the preferred learning style of disaster-affected communities promote and sustain capacity development efforts.

Keywords: Nepal; community; disaster; informal construction; learning; training.