Climbing the participation ladder

Community participation is the foundation of the Community-based Sanitation Marketing Enterprises (CBSE) that are being piloted by Live & Learn in Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu through the Australian government Civil Society WASH Fund. Without effective community ownership and participation the CBSEs will not be able to become effective community businesses. Community participation is …

Sanitation Enterprises launched in Vanuatu

The first two pilot Community-based Sanitation Enterprises were launched in Vanuatu this week. Tuburah and SAMAPETA sanitation enterprises were launched in an event that featured guest speakers from the Vanuatu Government Department of Public Health, and representatives from the Vanuatu Department of Cooperatives. Paramount Chiefs were also present, and representatives from local NGOs and the …

WASH Coordination in Vanuatu

Live & Learn Vanuatu has drafted an overview briefing of government level WASH coordination mechanisms. We have been helped in this by Katie Connolly, who has spent the past six weeks working with the WPSMIP as an intern. Katie is a graduate student at the University of North Carolina, USA. She is currently pursuing her Master …

School children in Solomon Islands advocate for hand-washing

  In a recent visit to a local primary school in the Solomon Islands the students demonstrated good understanding of the importance of washing their hands, but expressed frustration that most of the time they can’t wash their hands because there is no secure water supply at their school. In a peri-urban primary school in …

Bottleneck Analysis helps WASH in Schools planning

One of the approaches that the Western Pacific Sanitation Marketing Innovation Program (WPSMIP) has been using is Bottleneck Analysis. This is a method that looks at more than just access to services or information, but assess the actual use of health services by different groups of people. Currently we are using bottleneck analysis to look …

Menstrual Hygiene Day – talking about WASH in Schools

Today is global Menstrual Hygiene Day. In Solomon Islands the Live & Learn WPSMIP team marked Menstrual Hygiene Day with discussions at a local high school, where girls and boys discussed their perspectives on the challenges facing girls at their school. Sophie Suia, from Live & Learn Solomon Islands, shares that girls felt they struggled …

Sharing CBSE approach at WASH Futures 2016

At the recent WASH Futures 2016 Conference Western Pacific Sanitation Marketing Innovation Program staff from Live & Learn and International WaterCentre co-facilitated a workshop to share lessons learned in establishing community-based sanitation marketing enterprises. The workshop presenters were: Annika Kearton and Regina Souter, from International WaterCentre, and Iva Koroisamanunu and Rob Hughes, from Live & Learn. The …

Leadership Training for CBSE’s in Vanuatu

A core strategy of the Western Pacific Sanitation Marketing & Innovation Program is to enable local communities to establish Community-Based Sanitation Enterprises to sell affordable toilets and other hygiene products to families in the community. In Vanuatu we are working with cooperatives in informal urban settlements in Shefa Province, and in future will expand to …

WASH curriculum unit for teachers in Vanuatu

Live & Learn is currently working with the Vanuatu Institute of Teacher Education to include a WASH module in the compulsory science curriculum. When the revision is completed the WASH module can be taught to all prospective teachers that are trained at the college. School teachers are one of the most important people that can …

Toilets by the people, for the people!

It is not always easy to find a toilet to buy that is attractive, affordable, durable, environmentally-appropriate, and convenient for the whole family. For people living in informal settlements, or who have physical impairments, that can be especially difficult. Though it is not something that many people think about, toilet design is crucial to social inclusion, …