Sustainable Sanitation in Peru
January 10, 2011
By Kate Fogelberg
To me, a sustainable sanitation service, in very general terms is one where everybody can get access to a toilet and toilet services -- of their choice -- forever.
A lofty goal, for sure, but one that sets in motion very different types of programs than a goal to give X Community a certain number of toilets at one point in time. This goal is shaping our sanitation work in Peru, which began with a sanitation market analysis in a region outside of Arequipa, in southern Peru, and implies working in a way that local systems-financial services, construction, ongoing maintenance-function without the not-so “invisible hand” of an NGO.
A sanitation market analysis simply seeks to understand the current supply and demand for a particular product or service, and what barriers exist to meeting existing demand: in this case improved toilet facilities and services. Using my rough definition of a sustainable service, we learned a lot from the research in Majes.
- Everybody: Everybody includes basically five different segments, or groups of people with distinct toilet aspirations, economic status, and cultural background. From the relatively wealthy land-owner who is interesting in emulating conventional water-based sanitation solutions because of status aspirations, to the migrant farm workers who are illegally occupying uninhabited land who literally just want a roof overhead when they go to the bathroom, we’ve got to find different solutions for each of these different groups. Moreover, when the common health impact goal of reducing disease is invoked, it must be remembered that unless everybody is using and maintaining a toilet, those assumed health benefits will remain assumptions, not result in fewer people getting sick. But, different segments will require different products/services, promotion strategies, and financing options-while we want to reach everybody, a one size fits all approach is exactly what we don’t want to do!
What do you think?
