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Demand led sanitation in Zimbabwe

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conference contribution
posted on 2018-02-12, 15:11 authored by Juliet Waterkeyn, Anthony Waterkeyn
Whilst many sanitation projects have struggled to interest their beneficiaries in the positive advantages of latrines, Zimbabwe A.H.E.A.D. projects are battling to keep up with the demand for latrines from the communities. This paper explores a methodology that works to develop a “Culture of Cleanliness” through the establishment of Community Health Clubs. Rather than starting immediately with the implementation of a water and sanitation programme, health education is used as the first point of entry into the project area. By the end of six months of health promotion, the move to improve home hygiene comes naturally to Health Club Members, who readily contribute towards upgrading their own sanitation. In Matebeleland North Province of Zimbabwe, the technical problems of constructing latrines in collapsing Kalahari sands have made latrines expensive to construct and consequently sanitation coverage is often below 10%. To solve this problem, a technology has been devised that enables women to make interlocking bricks and line their own pits. Whilst the main cost is below ground, the superstructure is constructed cheaply with local materials, resulting in culturally appropriate and therefore sustainable structures. Zimbabwe A.H.E.A.D is promoting upgradeable sanitation which sees hygiene consciousness as the most important prerequisite for safe sanitation.

History

School

  • Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering

Research Unit

  • Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)

Published in

WEDC Conference

Citation

WATERKEYN, J. and WATERKEYN, A., 2000. Demand led sanitation in Zimbabwe. IN: Pickford, J. (ed). Water, sanitation and hygiene - Challenges of the Millennium: Proceedings of the 26th WEDC International Conference, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5-9 November 2000, pp.303-306.

Publisher

© WEDC, Loughborough University

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publication date

2000

Notes

This is a conference paper.

Other identifier

WEDC_ID:9836

Language

  • en

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    WEDC 26th International Conference

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