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Initiatives
What is a SaniMart?
Considering the present sanitation situation in the country, NEWAH believes that people are more likely to build latrines and maintain them if the components can be purchased locally and at an affordable price. The concept of SaniMart is to bring together in one place all the various components required to construct and maintain a latrine, as well as other personal hygiene items. It is a small shop located in an accessible bazaar.
A pilot project of the SaniMart was implemented in 2003 in Panchawati VDC of Udayapur district situated in the Eastern Development Region of Nepal. The project was implemented by NEWAH in partnership with its long term partner Panchawati Rural Development Center (PRDC).
Objectives
- To promote and increase sanitation coverage in rural areas
- To make sanitation components available to community people at an affordable price and at the same time reduce the burden of rural people purchasing sanitation materials and skills
- To increase technical skills for latrine construction available at the community level
- To reduce the subsidy on NEWAH's sanitation programme and make the sanitation programme more cost effective
- To improve the sustainability of water supply schemes by making spare parts available at the local level and
- To create a clean environment in the villages
An evaluation of the SaniMart pilot programme in May 2004 revealed encouraging results. Out of the 294 households, 101 had constructed new latrines while 74 had improved the existing ones through the SaniMart. It also showed that people did not have to travel long distances and make expensive trips to larger towns to purchase these materials. The latrines constructed through the SaniMart were found to be of high quality, in use, well maintained and clean. The chances of their sustainability also seemed high and cost to NEWAH far lower than in other NEWAH sanitation programmes. However, some ultra poor households were found left behind from these benefits. On the basis of the evaluation, since January 2005 a new approach of providing targeted subsidy to the ultra poor and medium households identified through the well being ranking has been initiated in the community.
In December 2003 after a Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) project was piloted in Karkidanda of Dhading district, a SaniMart was promoted through a local businessman. CLTS is an approach that promotes stopping of open defecating practices through the leadership and participation of the community and provides no subsidy on hardware. Thus, the objective of promoting a SaniMart in this project was to make the sanitation materials easily available at the local level and at a reasonable rate so as to increase the likelihood of people to opt for purchasing the materials and building latrines in their households. According to the businessman sale improved as compared to before after the implementation of the project because the neighbouring communities of Karkidanda also approached the local SaniMart to purchase the materials.
SaniMart in Udayapur
The SaniMart approach continued in 2005/2006 with the support of PRDC with provisions of targeted subsidy for ultra poor and medium poor HHs. A total of 100 HHs of Panchawati 4 and Bhalayadanda 1-2 VDC of Udayapur district have built and used latrines benefiting 504 people through this project. Achieving total sanitation is being targeted in communities situated within the Nepaltar valley and few neighbouring communities of Udayapur district through this approach and a valley coordination committee has been established to support to this process.
Materials required for building latrines like pan, cement, iron rods, binding wire, pipe and fittings are mainly found in the SaniMart. A trained local sanitation promoter is stationed at the SaniMart to support the local people on technical and maintenance aspects. More ultra poor households have been found to build the latrines through this approach. Requests for establishment of a new SaniMart in other communities is on the rise observing positive impacts such as increased demand of materials from the existing SaniMart and greater possibility of latrine construction especially for the poor at local level.
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