Self-Supply Approach
There are one million self-supply water sources in sub-Saharan Africa (Sutton, 2004). They are usually owned by individuals that finance their construction and maintenance. In rural communities, these water sources are often shared in times of hardship. They can often be unreliable and unsafe, if for example they are uncapped and unmaintained community wells. Therefore, governments and NGOs are distrustful of them because they are often below the required standard. However, it has become apparent that self-supply water sources will have to play a part, if the MDGs are to be achieved by 2015 (Carter, 2006).
CLTS Approach
The Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) Approach was developed by Kamal Kar in Bangladesh in 2000. The concept is directed towards getting communities to change their behaviour towards sanitation rather than building facilities to stop open defecation (Kar and Chanbers, 2008). The idea is to adapt CLTS Approach to water supply.
The CLTS approach consists of three stages:
Pre-Triggering: in which the community with high chances of success is selected, a facilitator (a trained volunteer) meets the community and starts to build ties.
Triggering: in which the community carries out a self-assessment, is made to feel ashamed of the situation they are in, the community starts to discuss among themselves the problem they are facing and the advantages and disadvantages of taking action, and finally decides to take action.
Post-Triggering: in which the community makes an action plan and the facilitator follows up the progress being made.
This approach relies on making the communities realise that their current situation is not acceptable, and then recognising their achievement when they reach the recommended standard. The reward system is aimed at boosting the pride of the community in what they accomplish.
The advantages of the CLTS approach are that it (Kar and Pasteur, 2005, Peal at al., 2010):
- Requires less money, than conventional methods, as the only cost is the training of the facilitators, wages and simple facilitating material
- Builds a sense of ownership and pride in the project
- Creates a need for the project
- Uses locally sourced materials
- Uses technology that the locals can understand and maintain
- Unites the community and encourages natural leader to emerge
Adapting CLTS approach to increase the percentage of the world population that have access to safe water supply will provide the compromise between the self-supply approach and the government and NGOs in rural sub-Saharan communities. However, for this to be feasible, more sustainable pump systems must to be developed (Water Works contact, 2011).
CLTS Approach
The Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) Approach was developed by Kamal Kar in Bangladesh in 2000. The concept is directed towards getting communities to change their behaviour towards sanitation rather than building facilities to stop open defecation (Kar and Chanbers, 2008). The idea is to adapt CLTS Approach to water supply.
The CLTS approach consists of three stages:
Pre-Triggering: in which the community with high chances of success is selected, a facilitator (a trained volunteer) meets the community and starts to build ties.
Triggering: in which the community carries out a self-assessment, is made to feel ashamed of the situation they are in, the community starts to discuss among themselves the problem they are facing and the advantages and disadvantages of taking action, and finally decides to take action.
Post-Triggering: in which the community makes an action plan and the facilitator follows up the progress being made.
This approach relies on making the communities realise that their current situation is not acceptable, and then recognising their achievement when they reach the recommended standard. The reward system is aimed at boosting the pride of the community in what they accomplish.
The advantages of the CLTS approach are that it (Kar and Pasteur, 2005, Peal at al., 2010):
- Requires less money, than conventional methods, as the only cost is the training of the facilitators, wages and simple facilitating material
- Builds a sense of ownership and pride in the project
- Creates a need for the project
- Uses locally sourced materials
- Uses technology that the locals can understand and maintain
- Unites the community and encourages natural leader to emerge
Adapting CLTS approach to increase the percentage of the world population that have access to safe water supply will provide the compromise between the self-supply approach and the government and NGOs in rural sub-Saharan communities. However, for this to be feasible, more sustainable pump systems must to be developed (Water Works contact, 2011).