Basic Understanding
Various water and sanitation programmes have failed in the past because they were supply driven. It is of prime importance to understand that people will only use SSWM-systems properly when they really want them themselves (demand driven). Furthermore, communities will only accept solutions when they understand them and see their benefits. Demand for sanitation and water systems is only created when end-users have motivation, opportunity and ability to invest in a sanitation and water system, which suits their needs and aspirations.
A lot of importance has been given to demand creation in the pas few years, , especially in the sanitation sector. For example, the Community-Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) approaches was developed to create demand for sanitation, and variants of it have been implemented on a large scale in many developing countries, mainly in South- and South-East Asia and Africa.
There is a large array of Awareness Raising Techniques that can be utilised to create demand for a certain Water and Sanitation Issue. Go to the Awareness Raising Tools (see PPT) section to read more about them.
Subscribe here to the new Sanitation and Water Entrepreneurship Pact (SWEP) newsletter. SWEP is a network of organizations joining hands to help entrepreneurs design and develop lasting water and sanitation businesses.