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.

Source(s):
‘Subsidy or self-respect? Participatory total community sanitation in Bangladesh’, IDS Working Paper WP 184, by K. Kar, 2003 Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 10 March 2003

Further Information:
Kamal Kar
GC-157 Salt Lake City
Kolkata-700091
India

Tel: +91 33 23580181
Fax: + 91 33 23212943
Contact the contributor: kamal.kar@vsnl.com

Contact the contributor: zubin@cal2.vsnl.net.in

Contact the contributor: kamalkar@yahoo.com

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