EU flashes Women, Well-being, Work, Waste and Sanitation (4WS) results

On the occasion of World Water Day 2007 the EU flashed on its Asian web page results from the collaborative research project Women, Well-being, Work, Waste and Sanitation (4WS) in which IRC is active. On top of that the EU press department also put out a mid-day news flash on the project results: "EU research is making a difference to water and sanitation issues in the developing world".

Making money from waste is possible

Coping with scarcity and poor quality was a key concern of an action research project called ‘ Women, well-being, work, waste and sanitation (4WS) ’ working on alternative strategies of environmental sanitation and waste management for improved health and socio-economic development in peri-urban coastal communities in south Asia (INCO-Contract ICA4-CT-2002-10013).

How to make money from night soil and refuse and help the environment at the same time? Some people may think this is not possible, but it is. An international research collaboration between five universities and five NGOs from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Netherlands and Finland and coordinated by Christine Sijbesma and Marielle Snel of the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, Delft, The Netherlands, demonstrated that it really worked in practice.

They cooperated with local Governments in the three East Asian countries focusing on action research on alternative strategies for environmental sanitation and waste management in six peri-urban coastal communities. The objectives were (1) to measure the cost-effectiveness of innovative and replicable approaches to excreta and solid waste management in low income peri-urban settlements; (2) to measurably improve sanitation conditions and practices; (3) to scale up the tested approaches; and (4) to strengthen implementation skills of the participants.

The project used participatory methods to promote the adoption of improved sanitation and hygiene. Local women (and men) were trained to produce and install sanitation facilities, generate work and income and improve their status. The researchers helped and documented this process to assess the pros and cons in comparison to pre-existing conditions.

What did they achieve?

(1) The innovations promoted were toilets and rainwater harvesting tanks built by local women masons. These worked out well with the women in Kerala ( India) and Bangladesh. In Sri Lanka, the masonry work turned out not to be an attractive formula for the participating women.

(2) Sanitation conditions and practices were improved in all participating communities, thus creating potential for reducing water-borne diseases and other negative effects of previous practices. The benefits importantly include lower cost toilets, water tanks and eco-latrines, home composting and vermi composting, all of which can make a difference in resource poor households. The 4WS formula was 31% cheaper than a government programme in Bangladesh and 20% cheaper in Kerala.

(3) Expansion to two more wards is under way in Bangladesh. Lessons on composting are taken up to the national level through the partners’ roles as advisors to the national sanitation policy. In Kerala, expansion is under way to 12 of 21 Local Self Governments and two municipalities.

(4) The teams also scored well on their own capacity building through the collaboration and have remained in touch after the project

The EU research Asia page provides more downloadable information and a photo gallery.