ALAMB- Plan India Partners Exposure Visit to CBS-DEWATS, Kolhapur

Plan India is an Indian NGO working to improve the lives of disadvantaged children, their families and communities through an approach which puts children at the centre of community development.

CDD Society Regional Cooperation Office, Nagpur, organised an exposure visit for 19 staff of PLAN India, their partners and community volunteers to the CBS-DEWATS in Rajendra Nagar, Kolhapur, during 9th – 11th April 2011. The PLAN India team is in the process of establishing community managed toilets in their project areas in New Delhi, hence, it was envisaged that this exposure visit would orient them in community based sanitation models.

On the first day of the visit, a meeting was organised with the various stakeholders involved in the implementation of the CBS programme at community level. The meeting helped in generating understanding on DEWATS among the group members. Presentations were made on DEWATS principles and CBS-DEWATS interventions at Rajendra Nagar and Salokhe Park in Kolhapur. The post presentation discussions helped in understanding the social component of the CBS programme. A session on experience sharing by the members of the Community Sanitation Committees of Rajendra Nagar and Salokhe Park was organised.

On the second day, the team visited a Project on “Controlled Aerobic Composting” implemented by Kolhapur Municipal Corporation. This has been a very successful project as the entire waste of Kolhapur City is brought to the treatment site where compost is generated through an aerobic composting method. The team then visited the Salokhe Park community toilet complex, DEWATS at Isolation Hospital staff quarters and Rajendra Nagar CBS-DEWATS project site. The team observed the impressive management of the toilets by the community. The idea of child friendly toilets was also well appreciated.