Community knowledge in action a path towards a sustainable water access : the Case study of AQUACOL, Colombia

Abstract: The provision of drinking water in Colombia, according to the constitution, is responsibility of the municipalities; they have to make sure everyone has access to a proper and reliable service. However, this is not the case when it comes to the rural and peri-urban areas of the country, where more than 90% of the drinking water is currently being provided by community managed aqueducts, a system in which organized autonomous communities manage, control, operate and maintain the drinking water provision of the isolated areas. This thesis is going to investigate the role of a collective community based association called AQUACOL, situated in the Valle del Cauca department, at the south west of Colombia. AQUACOL was created by community aqueducts, and it manages to increase the access, the effectiveness and efficiency of existing community systems by sharing the knowledge and experience of its member communities. This thesis argues that AQUACOL is guiding the aqueducts towards a more sustainable path mainly by relying on the creation of social capital, especially communities of practice, where the creation and sharing of knowledge and experience can help build stronger and more adaptable institutions; these conditions are essential to achieving sustainability (Ostrom, 1990). Lastly, this thesis also discusses the possibility to use the knowledge sharing and social capital building proposed by AQUACOL, in the creation of sustainable communities in other rural areas of the country where the water supply is also provided by community aqueducts.