Shit Matters

Download or read book Shit Matters written by Lyla Mehta and published by Practical Action Pub. This book was released on 2011 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sanitation remains one of the biggest development challenges of our time, and a long-neglected issue associated with taboos and stigma. Despite growing attention and efforts, many top-down approaches to sanitation have failed, reflecting that simply providing people with a latrine or toilet does not necessarily guarantee its use. Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) which originated in rural Bangladesh in 2000 offers a more promising alternative, by focusing on facilitating a profound change in people's behaviour through participatory techniques. The approach has proven immensely successful. It is being implemented in at least 40 countries, and has the potential to address several Millennium Development Goals. However, like any development success story, challenges still remain regarding scaling up with quality, inclusion of the poorest, and sustainability. There is also a danger that accounts of success may be exaggerated. This book addresses both the potential and challenges of CLTS by drawing on research in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, as well as experiences from Africa. With chapters by leading scholars and practitioners in sanitation policy and practice as well as critical reflections from key players in CLTS, Shit Matters offers important insights into the workings of CLTS on the ground, covering the social, ecological, technological, financial, and institutional dynamics surrounding CLTS with wider lessons for sanitation policy and practice. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in development, health, and public policy. `A "must read" for anyone who believes that a world in which over one billion people defecate in the open is a world not fit to live in.' Sanjay Wijesekera, Team Leader: Water and Sanitation, DFID `Truly a vast oak tree has grown from a very small acorn. And Shit Matters tells the story extremely well.' Peregrine Swann, WHO Senior Adviser to GLAAS (The UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water)