Samenvatting

Previous research has concluded that currently humanitarian organisations are not communicating
their knowledge effectively to communities and they have a lack of insight in existing knowledge
exchange strategies to improve the adaptation of knowledge in communities.
The purpose of this study was to find recommendations for the communication between humanitarian
organisations and households that enable adoption of hazard resistant construction knowledge by
households that reconstruct their own house after the earthquake in Nepal. This study gives insight in
which elements of knowledge exchange programs has proven to lead to adoption of knowledge in
communities for self-recovery.
An extensive literature review, 6 expert interviews, a case study and a comparative field study have
been conducted to increase. Based on these studies it is recommended that it is expected to be crucial
to organise meetings in a sequence after the first introduction to enable learners to assist each other in
the application of the knowledge. It is recommended to exchange knowledge instead of purely
transferring knowledge in order to enable a lasting understanding and adoption. It is also
recommended that knowledge interventions should use a lot of practical examples and have a short
presentation with simple information and the masons should be supported on the construction site in
order to successfully enable adoption. Sharing knowledge is especially effective when the knowledge
is shared face to face or by a community meeting or through the radio or with the use of a TV.
These findings support the notion that communication between humanitarian organisations and
communities could be more effective to improve the adaptation of knowledge.
For further research a longitudinal study is recommended to measure the lasting effect of knowledge
interventions. Further research is recommended to use this thesis as a basis for a follow-up field study
to test the recommendations. As part of this study preparations have been made for a longitudinal
study however, due to practical limitations, this study could not be conducted as part of this thesis.