Communities are often like living organisms themselves: each has its own identity, its own idiosyncrasies, its own makeup, its own strengths and weaknesses. What works for one community needn’t work for another, even when the problem is identical. One-size-fits-all approaches don’t work very well in the sort of differentiated communities we see in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This is particularly true when applied to sanitation.
Which is why Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) can be so revolutionary. In a nutshell, CLTS puts control back in the hands of the community. They get to come up with their own solutions, collaboratively. Rooted in the principles of empowerment and collective action, CLTS moves beyond traditional top-down methods, and instead focuses on community engagement and behavioural change. In essence, it aims to create clean communities through a participatory process that instils a sense of ownership and responsibility amongst participants.
CLTS was first developed in Bangladesh in 1999 by Kamal Kar, a development consultant, and later spread to 69 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where more than 40 million people are now living in environments where no one needs to go to the toilet in the open. CLTS has also been mainstreamed in the sanitation policies of over 25 countries in these regions.
Instead of relying on external interventions or subsidies, CLTS facilitates a process of collective action and behavior change among community members. Through participatory tools such as transect walks, mapping, and triggering, CLTS helps communities to analyze their sanitation problems, identify the negative impacts of their existing practices, and generate a sense of urgency and ownership to take remedial actions.
It is important to note that CLTS does not prescribe any specific type or design of toilets or latrines. Rather, it encourages communities to use locally available materials and resources to construct their own sanitation facilities according to their preferences and capacities. The ultimate goal of CLTS is to achieve total sanitation, so every household has access to a safe and hygienic toilet.
Why are Grassroots Initiatives Important for Sanitation?
Sanitation is a basic human right and a key determinant of health, dignity, and quality of life. Worldwide, over 1.7 billion people don’t have access to a toilet. This poses serious risks for public health, environmental sustainability, and social development.
Many conventional approaches to sanitation have failed to address the root causes of poor sanitation behaviour and outcomes. Often, these approaches focus on providing hardware or infrastructure without considering the social, cultural, and behavioural aspects of sanitation. They also tend to be top-down, supply-driven, and dependent on external funding or incentives. As a result, a good deal of sanitation projects have low levels of community participation, ownership, and sustainability.
Grassroots initiatives, on the other hand, offer an alternative way of tackling the sanitation challenge. By involving communities in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of their own sanitation solutions, grassroots initiatives can foster a sense of agency, responsibility, and pride among community members. They can also create a conducive environment for collective action, social learning, and innovation. Moreover, grassroots initiatives can leverage local knowledge, skills, and resources to ensure that sanitation solutions are appropriate, affordable, and adaptable to the local context.
How have CLTS Movements Transformed Communities in India?
India is one country that has adopted CLTS as a national strategy for rural sanitation. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), launched in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India aimed to ensure that each Indian has access to a toilet. SBM adopts a CLTS approach, with a focus on behaviour change and community mobilization. SBM also provides incentives for households to construct toilets, and rewards for villages that achieve open defecation free status. The WHO has recognised SBM as one of the largest behaviour change campaigns in history.
While the SBM has been largely successful, there are still some gaps in addressing other aspects of sanitation, such as solid waste management, wastewater treatment, and menstrual hygiene.Therefore, it is important to complement the top-down approach of the SBM with bottom-up initiatives like CLTS that empower communities to take ownership of their sanitation issues and solutions.
CLTS was first introduced in Ahmednagar and Nanded districts, Maharashtra, in 2002. During the Total Sanitation Campaign, CLTS was reportedly being used in 16 Indian states. Apart from Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh was the most successful. It was the only state to adopt a no-subsidy model with a community-owned agenda. CLTS has also been used in three urban areas: Kalyani near Kolkata in west Bengal (2005-07); Raigad near Mumbai in Maharashtra (2008); and Nanded in North-Western Maharashtra (2011).
Creating and Unleashing the Power of Community
For many in India, toilets are a brand new concept. As the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Mission found, construction of toilet infrastructure is just half the solution, the other half lies in driving adoption. To bring that about, behavioural change communication is key, and no one is better placed to talk about toilet hygiene than Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment.
Harpic has, over the years, led the sanitation and hygiene movement by creating innovative, thought-provoking campaigns and outreach programs. Harpic, together with News18, also created the Mission Swachhta aur Paani initiative 3 years ago. Mission Swachhta aur Paani is a movement that upholds the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets. Mission Swachhta aur Paani advocates equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and strongly believes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility.
For 3 years now, Mission Swachhta aur Paani has brought together the right stakeholders on a common platform, so that issues of importance can be discussed, and solutions found. These stakeholders include govt officials, municipalities, NGOs, activists, grassroots organisations, sanitation workers and affected communities. It also functions as a repository for information on a vast variety of topics surrounding toilet access, toilet hygiene, and how to help improve toilet access and toilet habits across the board.
Under the aegis of Mission Swachhta aur Paani, Harpic has reached out 17.5 million children across the nation via their partnership with Sesame Workshop India to promote positive sanitation, hygiene knowledge and toilet behaviours among children and families through schools and communities. Through Harpic World Toilet Colleges, Harpic is also changing the way sanitation work is viewed, uplifting the entire profession, and creating dignity and safety for sanitation workers.
The work of sanitation communication needs all our voices, and all our ideas. Join us here, to be a part of this national transformation towards a more Swasth and Swachh Bharat.
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