Building toilets with PLAN in Malawi
In October 2013, Plan Malawi commenced a program funded by the Australian aid program’s Civil Society WASH Fund to address rural sanitation. They began work in Gulumba (Southern Mulanje District) and other villages to raise community awareness of faecal contamination and to encourage households to construct basic low-cost toilets. People were taught how to make basic toilets, but – unlike some other programs – were not given money or supplies to do this. The effort was their own.
The Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach being used by PLAN operates on the principle that in order for people to feel committed to using and maintaining toilets, they should build and/or pay for the facilities themselves. CLTS promotes the goal of “zero open defaecation” in each village, and this is now part of Malawian Government policy. CLTS is now used in many parts of the world, and is based on the experience of other aid activities that provided attractive toilet facilities, often to find that were rarely used or fell into disrepair. The CLTS goal is not easy to achieve, but once it is accomplished, villages are publicly recognised as “ODF” – Open Defaecation Free – and encouraged to maintain this status.
The construction of each household’s toilets (like their houses) reflects the household’s financial capacity, commitment and work skills. Some in Gulumba have simple grass and pole walls and thatched roofs; others are more substantial, with walls of home-made bricks and metal roofs. A pattern in bricks on the wall of one proudly displayed the construction date: 2013. But the important feature is that each household has committed the money and energy to build its toilet.
The CLTS approach also encourages the emergence of “natural leaders” from within the community, and together with locally-based government Health Surveillance Assistance, they continue to encourage and educate their fellow villagers. So there is good reason to hope that most and perhaps all households will continue to use their toilet properly and keep it functional.
Beside each toilet are basic hand washing facilities: a container of water (usually a recycled tin or plastic container) and a plate of ash - a good substitute for soap, which is an expensive commodity for farmers with little cash income.