Developing disaster risk reduction skills among informal construction workers in Nepal

Capacity development has become embedded as part of the aid package offered by international organisations in response to humanitarian crises. However, the effectiveness of such capacity development efforts is rarely monitored or examined. Further, the local context and learning preferences of trainees appear to be often overlooked. Globally, the informal construction sector is thriving hence, using a case study of Nepal, where construction and post-earthquake reconstruction efforts are largely delivered by the informal construction sector, this paper examines how and whether informal construction workers effectively develop capacity and utilise trainings to develop more disaster resilient buildings. This paper explores how learning preferences of Nepalese construction workers could be drawn on to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of capacity development efforts. Finally, this paper highlights that training programmes informed by the context and preferred learning style of disaster affected communities, promote and sustain capacity development efforts.