 |
WASH-Loans: Evaluating the effect of microcredit on latrine uptake in rural Cambodia |
In Cambodia, access to finance is cited as one of the primary constraints preventing the sanitation market from reaching scale. Producers of latrines often complain that lack of access to affordable capital prevents the expansion of their business operations, while households cite financial limitations as a factor preventing them from investing in on-site sanitation. In an effort to help overcome this financing hurdle, WaterSHED-Cambodia, in partnership with a research team from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, is conducting a study designed to test the viability of using microfinance to improve household uptake of latrines…Read more
 |
Household participation, satisfaction, usage and investment in an Output Based Aid sanitation program to increase uptake of hygienic facilities among the rural poor in Central Vietnam |
Overview
This poster was presented by Dr. Mimi Jenkins (WaterSHED – The University of California-Davis) at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conference “Water and Health: Where Science Meets Policy“, 3-7 OCT 2011, Chapel Hill, NC
 |
Evaluating household water treatment options: Health-based targets and microbiological performance specificationsAuthors: Prof. Mark Sobsey (WaterSHED) and Dr. Joe Brown (WaterSHED) |
Overview
This document sets forth global criteria to evaluate whether a household water treatment (HWT) option reduces waterborne pathogens sufficiently to protect health. Through use of a risk-based framework and by emphasizing the philosophy of incremental improvement, it is intended to provide implementers and policy-makers with an evidence-based and pragmatic approach to select options suited to local conditions. The document provides a range of technical recommendations, including:
- A step-by-step overview of how to evaluate HWT microbiological performance
- Elaboration of health-based water quality targets ranging from interim to highly protective, including establishment of default targets for use in data-scarce settings
- Description of technology-specific laboratory testing protocols and guiding principles
- Considerations relating to developing national technology evaluation programs.
This document is especially intended for resource-scarce settings where water quality laboratories may have limited capacity and incremental improvements of HWT performance could have a substantial, positive impact on public health.
 |
The Hands-off sanitation marketing model: Emerging lessons from rural Cambodia |
Overview
This paper was presented at the 35th WEDC International Conference – The future of water, sanitation and hygiene in low-income countries: Innovation, adaptation and engagement in a changing world – 6-8 July 2011, Loughborough University, UK.
 |
Sanitation marketing for managers: Guidance and tools for program development |
Overview
This guidance manual draws significantly on previous work by Dr. Mimi Jenkins (WaterSHED – The University of California-Davis) and many of the activities and tools described in this guide were initially developed by Dr. Jenkins in collaboration with local partners and tested in two sites in sub-Saharan Africa under the DFID-funded Knowledge and Research Project.
This manual provides guidance and tools for designing a sanitation marketing program. It guides professionals in the fields of sanitation and marketing to complete two important and necessary steps: (1) to comprehensively assess the current market for sanitation products and services and (2) to use the results of this assessment to design a multi-pronged strategy to:
- Build the capacity of appropriate market actors to provide necessary sanitation market functions;
- Create and strengthen the incentives for these actors to participate in the market and to collaborate with one another;
- Permit actors to proactively take on functions from which they will benefit, e.g., financially, politically;
- Develop appropriate products and services that respond to consumer preferences; and
- Create appropriate marketing messages and plans for promotion and communication to market the products and services to consumers.
Teaching Aids at Low Cost is offering a spiral-bound edition of this guide. For purchasing information please see TALC’s website.
 |
Rainwater harvesting practices and attitudes in the Mekong Delta of VietnamPublished in the Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development |
Abstract
Access to safe drinking water is limited in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) at household level is among the primary sources of drinking water in the region and is widely practiced throughout Southeast Asia. It has recently been increasingly advocated as an alternative or supplemental approach to household water supply. However, relatively little research has been done on current RWH practices and attitudes. We interviewed residents of 619 households in three provinces to understand the current practice of and preferences for rainwater harvesting. We found that rainwater was the most common water source for all domestic activities in the rainy season; however, it was reserved for high-value uses in the dry season. Residents ranked color, perceived safety, smell, taste and reliability of rainwater very highly compared to other water sources. Most households practice daily first-flush and/or boil water before drinking. Storage capacity seems to be a major barrier to RWH providing an adequate supply of domestic water year-round. Because other improved water supplies are not widely available in the rural delta, rainwater harvesting seems to be a promising way to expand access to improved water sources for the residents.
 |
Development and evaluation of improved household water filters in CambodiaPublication in Review |
Abstract
Three novel candidate ceramic filter-based technologies were tested for microbial reductions using model drinking waters spiked with test microbes. Filters tested were commercially available mineral pot filters, ceramic siphon filters, and modified and unmodified ceramic pot filters. All filters were tested over extended periods for reduction of E. coli. Additional tests were conducted to evaluate reductions of MS2, spore-forming bacteria, and/or fluorescent microspheres as a surrogate for protozoa. Results indicate that all filters met a basic level of microbial reduction of approximately 99% (2 log10) for E. coli, consistent with previous work on ceramic filters. More work is needed to fully characterize and improve the candidate filters’ effectiveness against other classes of pathogens.
 |
Consumer preferences and uptake of household water treatment products in Cambodia |
Overview
Dr. Mimi Jenkins designed and led a field study, with the assistance of UNC PhD candidate Martha Priedeman Skiles, to provide consumer-based insights and perspectives for improving the marketing, promotion and retail sales of the Rabbit Filter, produced by WaterSHED partner Hydrologic. The study sought to shed light on continued and sustained use of the Rabbit filter by purchasers and identify the competitive advantages, positioning and market segments for the Rabbit filter in the context of existing products available in rural and peri-urban Cambodia.
This study was a systematic qualitative investigation into Cambodian perceptions of water quality and of treatment behaviors and practices using in-depth individual interviews. Embedded within the larger study was a sub-study that focused on the perceptions, preferences and drivers of uptake for three specific commercial products in Cambodia: the Rabbit-brand ceramic water purifier (CWP); the 1001 Fontaines treated bottled water; and the PSI chlorine tablets, “Tuek Sovattapheup”. Data analysis and reporting for the study are ongoing
 |
WaterSHED’s handwashing initiative in Cambodia: Summary of progress and preliminary findings |
Overview
WaterSHED is supporting an initiative in Cambodia to develop a low-cost marketable handwash device product that will facilitate proper handwashing with soap at critical times for health, targeted at households lacking indoor piped water. A team of researchers from The University of California – Davis and The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, undertook a survey of existing household handwashing practices and equipment in two provinces of Cambodia (Kampong Speu and Kandal) and conducted consumer interaction trials to test a range of alternative device designs and features. This summary highlights preliminary findings from this work.
 |
Handwashing enabling products for developing countries: Design features, preferences, and behavior change from an in-depth product trial in Cambodia |
Overview
This poster was presented by Dr. Mimi Jenkins (WaterSHED – The University of California-Davis) at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conference “Water and Health: Where Science Meets Policy“, 23-26 OCT 2010, Chapel Hill, NC
 |
Cambodia sanitation consumer demand behavior qualitative study: Highlights of key findings |
Overview
An in-depth qualitative analysis was undertaken across three provinces in rural Cambodia to investigate what consumers living in mostly rural areas believe, feel, value and think about both their current defecation practice and about investing in and using household latrines, including about different existing latrine designs, features, and types of technology. Interviews were conducted with both latrine adopters and non-adopters in order to build an understanding of benefits and motivations driving uptake and constraints and facilitators affecting decisions to install household latrines, ascertaining what different consumers liked and disliked about different home toilet latrine designs and why, as well as investigating how best to communicate to this target population the benefits of home sanitation and the choices available to them. These households, as consumers and daily users of sanitation facilities, are at the center of developing a sanitation marketing program which aims to promote increased latrine uptake and usage in this target population by developing desirable latrine designs and targeting promotional material and messages, as well as providing appropriate technologies and support systems in order to facilitate adoption and maintenance of sanitation behavior change.
 |
Relative benefits of piped water supply over other “improved” sources: A case study from rural Vietnam |
Overview
This poster was presented by Dr. Joe Brown at Singapore International Water Week 2010.
Abstract
Access to improved water sources is rapidly expanding in rural central Vietnam. We examined one market-based, NGO-led, piped water supply program to assess the drinking water quality and health impacts of piped water systems where access to “improved” water sources (protected wells and rainwater harvesting) is already good. This longitudinal, prospective cohort study included 300 households in seven project areas in Da Nang province, Vietnam: 224 randomly selected households who paid to connect to one of seven piped water systems and 76 control households from the same areas relying primarily on “improved” water sources outside the home. The four-month study was intended to specifically measure the impact of the NGO-led water programs on households’ drinking water quality and health and to evaluate system performance. Other observed water use and handling practices, including point-of-use water treatment by boiling, were also examined for possible associations with household drinking water quality and health.
 |
Health impacts of expanding access to piped water in rural Vietnam: A post-implementation assessment |
Overview
Access to “improved” water and sanitation is rapidly expanding in Vietnam. We examined one market-based, NGO-led piped water supply and sanitation program to assess the water quality, health, and other impacts of expanded coverage of specific interventions. This longitudinal, prospective cohort study includes 300 households in seven project areas in central Vietnam: 141 households who paid to connect to a piped water system; 83 households who paid to connect to a piped water system and who paid to install an improved, pour-flush latrine; and another group of 76 control households that did not invest in these specific improvements. The four-month study was intended to measure the impact of the NGO-led water and sanitation programs on households’ drinking water quality and health against control households with a “basic” level of service characteristic of the project areas (majority access to improved drinking water sources and high access to sanitation options of various kinds). We found that: (i), households connected to a piped water supply had consistently improved drinking water quality over those relying on other, non-piped sources; (ii), households investing in a piped water connection (with or without an improved latrine) were at reduced risk of diarrheal diseases compared with households that did not invest in these; and (iii), households paid less per month for piped water and reported greater satisfaction with the service over available alternatives. Finally, although a connection to a piped water supply offers measurable benefits to households at relatively low cost, maintaining water quality and ensuring consistent operation and maintenance represent ongoing challenges to local service providers.
 |
Water and sanitation in Kampong Speu, Cambodia: Supply chain analysis and strategy development |
Overview
This report was prepared as part of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Marketing Project, a joint initiative of Lien Aid and the World Toilet Organization and supported by WaterSHED. The report is an analysis of the water and sanitation supply chains in four districts of Kampong Speu province with the goal of developing strategies to strengthen these supply chains.
 |
WASH marketing project Kampong Speu baseline survey |
Overview
This baseline report was prepared as part of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Marketing Project, a joint initiative of Lien Aid and the World Toilet Organization and supported by WaterSHED. Field research was conducted in late July 2009 and aimed to collect information on the current situation in the WASH Marketing (WASH-M) project target area comprising 55,100 households in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia. The research had two primary objectives:
- To understand the perceptions, desires, practices, motivations and constraints of households in the target area with respect to sanitation, hygiene and water in order to inform the development of marketing strategies; and
- To establish baseline levels of latrine coverage and behavioural indicators of household consumer demand1 for WASH products prior to launching project activities.
Given the high prevalence of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) villages in the target area, a third objective was to understand village and household sanitation situations in villages that have experienced a CLTS intervention compared to those that have not.
