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Use
of Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches
The
total elimination of open defecation holds promise of major
gains in enhancing the wellbeing of women, children and men
and in achieving the MDGs. Community-Led Total Sanitation
(CLTS) is a participatory approach that started in Bangladesh
and has been spread to varying degrees in India, Cambodia,
Indonesia, China, Nepal. To a limited degree, it has also
been trialled in some African countries. In a CLTS process,
facilitators encourage communities to carry out their own
appraisal and analysis of community sanitation. This generally
leads them to recognise the volume of human waste they generate
and how the practice of open defecation means they are likely
to be ingesting one another's faeces. The resulting disgust
and desire for self-respect can induce them to take immediate
and comprehensive action by digging and building latrines
and stopping open defecation without waiting for external
support in the form of hardware subsidy.
This
project aims to make a difference by reducing the deprivation
and enhancing the wellbeing of poor people through research
to generate knowledge and insights concerning CLTS , through
participatory action research engaging with practice, and
through the sharing of knowledge, experience and insights
across communities, organisations and countries.
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