The Blue School concept was pioneered by the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA) and further developed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and partners, i.e. the Swiss Water & Sanitation Consortium. In addition to activities related to Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH), a Blue School promotes school gardens as a practical place to demonstrate the relationship between food production and an efficient management of water; as well as watershed and land management practices and solid waste management. The concept builds on the WASH in School (WINS) community of practice and addresses all SDG 6 targets.

The experiences of the work in more than 200 schools in Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, and Nicaragua are currently compiled and a Blue School Kit developed.

The Blue School Kit will provide guidance to education authorities and school personnel and will include following products:

• A Concept Brief defining a Blue School, minimum requirements, key principles and components, including a step by step road map on how best to engage government institutions and build ownership of the school stakeholders
• A Facilitator’s Guide with suggestions for learning objectives for each component and practical ideas for teachers to use with students
• A Catalogue of Technologies that can be demonstrated in a school or its environs at low cost, focusing mainly on watershed & land management, waste, as well as drinking water, sanitation and hygiene
• A Catalogue of Practical Exercises for teachers to complement theoretical lessons, requiring materials at little to no cost for school-based activities
• An Ecoregion Book to support learning about the natural features, resources and constraints of a given environment—useful for planning Blue School activities and selecting appropriate demonstration technologies

First extracts of the work is compiled and presented at the Stockholm World Water Week 2017 with the Blue School Poster.