| Abstract |
This paper summarises the experience of Practical Action Bangladesh in promoting water, sanitation, waste and hygiene related infrastructure and services in the town of
Faridpur, Bangladesh. Practical Action attempted to help community groups to organise and develop participatory slum improvement plans with the municipality. This led to prioritising needs, and agreeing roles and responsibilities in the delivery. Communities also identified the opportunities for income generation and employment within the delivery, operation and maintenance systems. They have also acquired other skills to boost their income. The involvement of people and their empowerment is leading to
better use and maintenance of water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure and services. Communities have also negotiated better deals with the municipality to use municipal land for waste recycling and to finance the larger infrastructure. The sustained income from users' charges was shown to be a more complicated issue than initially thought. This is mainly because of social structure, ownership and expectations at the community level. Practical Action has realised that larger slums of more
than 100 families need more detailed technical planning for services. Overall, the Faridpur slum model has potential to scale-up in terms of physical and social infrastructure. [authors abstract]
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