The Potty Project

Key Takeaway 08 is “close-knit and self-contained sub-communities exist where the ties are simultaneously social, cultural, economic and religious.” Sub-communities share private infrastructure within themselves and may also restrict access to other sub-communities. They are also reluctant to access facilities and amenities placed within other sub-communities.

Because of the fractioning of facilities, many improvement opportunities are lost because the community does not mobilize around them. The lack of involvement of residents in the process of selecting a location for a toilet as well as providing inputs and opinions for how the facility should be structured means that the toilet facility often does not meet all the needs of the community.

Large income disparities within a small geography can also make it difficult for benefits to be equitably distributed. A discharge drain built by one household could easily have been used by others but because of cost issues, only one house did it while others have built small tanks that collects household waste water.