Subsidy or self-respect?
Lessons from Bangladesh
In large parts of Bangladesh, people in both rural and urban areas practice
open defecation. Despite 30 years of efforts by international agencies
and non-governmental organisations to improve environmental sanitation,
it is hard to find even 100 villages out of nearly 85 000 that are
completely sanitised.
Where initiatives are based on subsidising toilet construction, success
is usually judged by the number of latrines built in a given time rather
than measuring the extent of open defecation, which in most cases continues
unabated. Is there an alternative to subsidies? How can people be motivated
to stop defecating in the open?
A working paper from the UK's Institute of Development Studies highlights
a new approach being taken by the author with the Village Education Resource
Centre (VERC) in Bangladesh. Supported by WaterAid Bangladesh, VERC is
concentrating on encouraging whole villages to construct toilets, without
offering any subsidies.
Previous research on WaterAid's water and sanitation programme in Bangladesh
found that subsidies gave the opportunity but not the capacity for toilet
construction. For example, as building a toilet requires land, the landless
cannot take advantage of subsidies. Community members (as both catalysts
and community sanitation engineers) were encouraged to develop low-cost
and locally adopted models. Many such models became very popular.
Before the new project started, VERC field staff and WaterAid Social
Development personnel were trained to focus on empowering all members
of the target communities to analyse the environmental sanitation conditions
of their villages. The team of facilitators used a series of participatory
exercises such as a defecation area transect walk (walking through the
village), household toilet mapping and calculating the total faeces contributed
by each family to spur the community into action.
During the transect walk, the team saw the different types of latrines
and witnessed places where people generally defecate, to the embarrassment
of the accompanying community members. The 'walk of shame' has become
the most important motivating tool and in almost every case results in
the setting up of the first community meeting to discuss solutions.
Once people begin to voice their eagerness to stop open defecation the
team acts as facilitators and in most cases the community forms a WATSAN
(water and sanitation) committee and draws up an action plan. As the community
becomes motivated, each member attempts to construct a toilet within the
family's means and capacity.
Key findings from the project include:
- more than 20 new low-cost models of toilet have emerged, designed
by local people and with the cheapest costing only Tk. 70 (US$ 1.27)
- a reduced incidence of diarrhoea, lowered expenditure on medical
treatment and increased school attendance rates
- improved safety and dignity for women who no longer need to defecate
in open fields. Women are also taking the lead in the formation of WATSAN
committees.
Today, more than 100 villages have totally cleaned themselves up, covering
more than 15 000 families. The same approach is being tried out on a small
scale in Zambia, India and Uganda, with the same level of response from
the communities and has just been introduced in the Pursat Province of
Cambodia. Recently the method has been initiated in two districts of Maharashtra
state and in one district in Tamilnadu state in India where progress is
very impressive.
Continued success will depend on factors such as:
- finding and training enough facilitators, who are the major tool
of the process
- encouraging developmental institutions to recognise that communities
are capable of sanitising their environment without subsidy and to provide
them with support
- involving local government and community leaders from the beginning
who will then be encouraged to take ownership of the programme as it
begins to show signs of success.
Kamal Kar
GC-157 Salt Lake City
Kolkata-700091
India
T +91 33 23580181
F +91 33 23212943
kamal.kar@vsnl.com
zubin@cal2.vsnl.net.in
kamalkar@yahoo.com
See also
'Subsidy or self-respect? Participatory total community sanitation in
Bangladesh', IDS Working Paper WP 184, by K. Kar, 2003
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/bookshop/wp/wp184.pdf
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