Community-Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Dukom Village

High incidences of diarrhea cases in Dukom Village (Tiom sub district) raise awareness in the community. They curious and wonder what is the caused of this situation. WV then facilitated the community using method of Community-Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS). In this method, WV did not directly point to solutions but building community curiosity and knowledge as they will find their own solutions.

At first, village mapping was made.

Community map several places where they used to defecate or location where they used to find feces. They then connect those places with some incidence of diarrhea that happened and then they found correlation between it. Although some houses already equipped with private sanitation facilities, still the habit of open defecation happened among community. Their work that consume most of their time in the field has forced them to still practice open defecation habit.

Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) focuses on igniting a change in sanitation behavior rather than constructing toilets. It does this through a process of social awakening that is stimulated by facilitators from within or outside the community. It concentrates on the whole community rather than on individual behaviors. Collective benefit from stopping open defecation (OD) can encourage a more cooperative approach. People decide together how they will create a clean and hygienic environment that benefits everyone.

It is fundamental that CLTS involves no individual household hardware subsidy and does not prescribe latrine models. Social solidarity, help and cooperation among the households in the community are a common and vital element in CLTS. Other important characteristics are the spontaneous emergence of Natural Leaders (NLs) as a community proceeds towards ODF (Open Defecation Free) status; local innovations of low cost toilet models using locally available materials, and community-innovated systems of reward, penalty, spread and scaling-up. CLTS encourages the community to take responsibility and to take its own action.

In its fullest sense, total sanitation includes a range of behaviors such as: stopping all open defecation; ensuring that everyone uses a hygienic toilet; washing hands with soap before preparing food and eating, after using the toilet, and after contact with babies’ feces, or birds and animals; handling food and water in a hygienic manner; and safe disposal of animal and domestic waste to create a clean and safe environment. CLTS concentrates on ending open defecation (OD) as a first significant step and entry point to changing behavior. It starts by enabling people to do their own sanitation profile through appraisal, observation and analysis of their practices of OD and the effects these have. This kindles feelings of shame and disgust, and often a desire to stop OD and clean up their neighborhood.

After learn knowledge and doing village mapping, community of Dukom village then made a deal in form of agreement between village inhabitant and village leaders not to do open defecation anymore. They also agreed to build latrines in places where OD often occurs. “We really hope by practicing this new habit will lower the number of diarrhea cases in our village” said Yemiles Weya one of the participants.

Written by Willy Sitompul for Eruwok Development