Empowering conflict- affected communities to respond ... - Saferworld

s a f e r w o r l d · t h e a s s o c i a t i o n o f s o u t h o s s e t i a n w o m e n f o r d e m o c r a c y a n d h u m a n r i g h t s 13t o p l e f t: The mill in Teregevancommunity prior to beingrenovated by the community,Znaur/i district, April 2012.t o p r i g h t : The mill inTeregevan community havingbeen successful renovated bythe community, Znaur/idistrict, February 2013.b o t t o m l e f t: A man looks atphotographs of workimplemented by thecommunity at the opening ofthe mill, Znaur/i district,August 2012.b o t t o m r i g h t : Preparationsfor the opening of the mill,Znaur/i district, August 2012.© t h e a s s o c i a t i o n o fs o u t h o s s e t i a n w o m e n➜Case study two: Teregevan community, Znaur/i districtThe problem: Following damage to water mills located in the community during the 2008 war,people have had to travel to the city to grind grain. Poor public transport meant that many hadto return home late at night, and faced attacks by wild animals from a forest bordering thecommunity.Vision of change: Community members work with representatives of the local administration torestore at least one watermill. As a result community members are able to mill grain, removing theneed to travel to the city, which undermines peoples’ feelings of security. Successful restoration ofthe mill can act as a precedent to repair other mills in the community.Steps taken:n Community representatives met with local people and the head of the local administration toagree a plan for rebuilding one of the water mills in the area. Although the CRG had initiallyplanned to renovate an existing mill, the state of the mill meant they had to rebuild the mill fromscratch.n The community used the 300 euro micro grant to buy an old wooden house, which theydisassembled to provide wood to rebuild the mill. The local administration provided a vehicle totransport the material, as well as concrete piles and an excavator to set the foundations.Additional wooden posts were provided by a private company.n The community undertook voluntary work to rebuild the mill. During implementation of work,the villagers provided those working with food and refreshments.n Once the mill was functioning, the community organised an opening ceremony and invited alongrepresentatives from local and Tskhinval/i authorities to celebrate the success of their joint work.