Where to find financial information

[Christiaan HanekomParticipant]

I would like to ask for a little bit of direction in where to find information surrounding the costs of the project.
1. What is the average income of people in the village (If it is even applicable)?
2. Where would we find information on costs of building materials that are locally sourced and what materials are locally available other than natural materials?
3. Who is funding this project? Locals, EWB, Wateraid, Government, combination?
4. Should labour costs involved in building the design be taken into consideration when working out a budget?
5. Should transport of materials to the village be considered in the budget and where could we find information on this?

Also in terms of water consumption, we can find information on average water use for Timor Leste but not Loidahar specifically. What is the average household water use and how much water should the tanks be able to hold. Will the tanks be filled from the main water tanks or collected from rainwater or is how they are filled up to us to design?

[Anthony BradyKeymaster]

Hi Christiaan,

It’s great that you are thinking about budget and costs for this project. Regardless of context, these are important factors to consider in the design process but in the context of Loidahar, they are especially important.

As stated in design brief, “The economy of Loidahar is predominantly self-sustainment based, with agriculture serving as the mainstay. Wage-based employment opportunities are limited, with the majority of the village self-employed in agriculture and part time construction, depending on project availability.”

When putting a budget together, it is okay to make reasonable assumption based on your own research. Depending on what challenge/opportunity your project is working towards will influence how the project is funded. As you’ve pointed out, this could be a combination of locals, EWB, WaterAid and Government – noting that funding is limited so your design should be as cost effective as possible (see Design Considerations section and ensure you include these in your design).

You aren’t expected to know all the answers but the more research you can do to help make reasonable assumptions about labour costs, transport of materials, and cost of locally available/imported materials, will help you to create a more considered budget for the project.

With regards to water consumption, Loidahar experiences seasonal challenges in ensuring reliable access to safe and clean water. While we don’t have the exact number for household water use, it is okay for you to make assumptions based on what data you do have for Timor-Leste. The Water Access & Quality section of the design brief and accompanying Interactives has a lot of useful content. Additionally, there are photos of typical storage tanks that supply 4-5 households – these can be used to inform your designs.

The specifications of your design is entirely up to you and will depend on what is going to be most appropriate for the specific challenge/opportunity you are trying to solve.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Anthony

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