Table 3 Main benefits of the community participatory model

• All social groups feel concerned and participate in community matters;

• It addresses the true needs of community members, and there is better understanding of the causes and effects of problems;

• The solutions are adapted to community capacities and acceptable to all members, increasing their commitment to tackle the problems;

• The community is empowered, its dependency is reduced and there is an increased sense of ownership, self-responsibility, self-awareness and confidence in their own capabilities;

• People are interested in having a well-established and well-maintained project, building on existing local knowledge, resources and capacities;

• It is possible to generate community resources and reduces the overall costs and needed subsidies; this also improves the self-sufficiency and sustainability of the project.