Taking community-led total sanitation to scale : movement, spread and adaptation

Year of publication: 2008

Deak, A. (2008). Taking community-led total sanitation to scale : movement, spread and adaptation. (IDS working papers; no. 298). Brighton,UK, Institute of Development Studies,University of Sussex. - 45 p. : 1 fig., 2 tab. - Bibliography: p. 42-45. – ISBN 9781858646774

This paper focuses on community-led total sanitation (CLTS), an innovation in participatory methodology, as well as a unique approach to sanitation. It proposes that going to scale is multi-dimensional and complex and describes how CLTS offers important lessons to understand spread which is critical for scaling up in an effective way. After a brief overview of CLTS, the paper reviews the literature on scaling-up and extracts the useful points relevant to CLTS, and highlights the gaps in the literature around self-spreading movements. A number of case studies of innovative methods or approaches that have been successfully scaled-up are then considered: PRA, Reflect, Community Integrated Pest Management and System of Rice Intensification. The author then maps out CLTS experience, outlining the various ways in which CLTS has spread. After considering the various forms of spread, the ‘spatial strategy’ employed by CARE Bangladesh is given specific attention. The paper then discusses how CLTS and other participatory approaches challenge dominant thinking around community developing by critically examining the World Bank’s discourse around Community-based/driven development. The final section offers concluding remarks regarding how to better understand scaling-up and spread.

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Keywords

• Participatory Management