Village Education Resource CenterWatSan & Technology
Lessons learnt from the projects:
- The installation and use of toilet by agri-labour during works in the remote location fields is now becoming popular in order to stop open defecation;
- Use of locally available materials as innovative technology is still on at the community level - use of date/ palm stems as brush for toilet cleaning purpose and use of available motorcar tyre as toilet pan;
- Innovative use of a big earthen jar connected by plastic tube as water tank for flushing of toilet and effective hand washing;
- In flood prone areas, people have started raising the base of the toilet to prevent contamination of water by faecal matter;
- VERC has developed several disable friendly latrine designs for the physically vulnerable people under a piloting initiative and successfully introduced the options in the community;
- As part of school hygiene promotion activities, separate toilet with sufficient menstrual facility for girl students, have been introduced and the initiative is spreading around as a popular trend in school sanitation.
- The safe distance between water options and latrine study findings revealed that the hydro-geologic conditions i.e. properties of top soil and type of aquifer sediments have important role in controlling movement of bacteria from pit latrine to groundwater zone. The microbial flow with water depends on the cohesive nature and hydraulic conductivity of top soil as well. In Sitakundu the thin surface clay layer is vulnerable to contaminantion. During rainy season, the shallow aquifer with thin overlying aquitard becomes vulnerable even upto the distance of 30 ft.
- Joint initiative could ensure the successful implementation of the activities and also build strong and coordinated platform for advocacy
- Grassroots involvement and their voice raising is the most important task that could be done well by the local partners’
- For network development close contact with local, national and regional level is essential. Training and exposure visit can play a vital role to enhance knowledge and capacity
- WSTF & USTF meetings are yet to be held on regular basis;
- Introduction of new guideline, manuals and formats in the middle /later stage of the projects;
- Contradiction with other WatSan NGOs in respect of the understanding of hygienic and unhygienic latrines and putting things into practice;
- Village level support organizations have some lacking in clarity on process sustainability and phasing-out strategy.
- Rohinga migration in Cox’s Bazar is a great challenge for achieving total sanitation coverage in that area
Major challenges faced:
Future dimension:
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Sustainability of achieved success had been a key concern to all in the sector similarly, VERC and WAB is looking for ways to make total sanitation sustainable. To this effect a piloting initiative of sludge management has been taken up in Bagmara Upazila for trying out the sustainability aspects of project interventions. The project approach is also taking consideration of enhancing the sustainability through the direct involvement of community organizations.
