Subsidy or Self-Respect? Participatory Total Community Sanitation in Bangladesh

Access to latrines in rural areas of Bangladesh is less than 15 per cent. Many international agencies and
\nnon-governmental organisations have been working to improve environmental sanitation by constructing
\nlatrines and toilets with subsidies provided at different rates. But even after three decades of such efforts it
\nis difficult to find 100 villages from amongst nearly 85,000 that are totally sanitised and free from open
\ndefecation. Success has generally been measured on the basis of the number of latrines constructed within
\na given period of time instead of the extent of open defecation, which in most cases has continued
\nunabated. A new approach being pioneered by the author (Dr Kamal Kar, Social and Participatory
\nDevelopment Consultant from Calcutta, India) with Village Education Resource Centre (VERC), Water
\nAid in…