A high profile 5 day state level Training of the Trainers (ToT) workshop on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) kicked off in Haryana with Dr. Kamal Kar and senior members of CLTS Foundation Global to fast track the implementation of rural sanitation programmes and access to sanitation coverage of the state under the Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Rural at Karnal district from 15 November till 19th of Nov 2016.

Haryana: Paving the Pathway towards an Open Defecation Free State through CLTS 

1st intervention by World Bank and CLTS Foundation Global kicks-off in state

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This ToT workshop is organised under the aegis of the World Bank’s intervention on Swachh Bharat Mission in India. This was the first such high level institutional workshop in the state of Haryana in association with CLTS Foundation Global and Government of Haryana. The training participants consisted of block coordinators, village motivators, social work professors, students and other stakeholders. Participants came from nine districts of Haryana namely Karnal, Hisar, Sonipat, Gharunda, Rohtak, Jind, Ambala, Bhiwani.

The 5-day institutional triggering intervention in Karnal district of Haryana was conducted with the following objectives:

  1. Gain clear understanding and knowledge on the principles, rationale, methodology, applicability and limitations of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in order to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) environments with special reference to respective districts and Haryana context.
  2. Understand the importance of all four stages of the CLTS process:pre-triggering, triggering, post triggering follow up and post ODF activities.
  3. Understand the importance of triggering usage of toilets through collective behaviour change and achieving ODF instead of focusing on mere latrine construction with no tangible outcomes.
  4. Understand the importance of engaging diverse set of stakeholders in the CLTS scaling up process.
  5. Discussion and presenting an action plan for expediting CLTS implementation and scaling up process across respective districts in Haryana with a clear emphasis on engaging with Natural Leaders (NL) and a focus on community empowerment.
CLTS in India

Participants in the workshop

The initial two days of the training covered the theoretical aspects and preparation for the field work for implementation of the learning in the field. It was observed that many of the participants have been attending numerous trainings before and one of the main challenges during the training was unlearning what they had learnt to focus on the main idea of CLTS approach. Emphasis was given on the quality rather than quantity of ODF.

Many of the participants also shared the failures or challenges of many of the sanitation schemes and the subsidy approach.

Those learnings have been noted down to be presented on the last day of the training when some of the senior Govt. officials of the state are expected to be present and discuss the action plan for carrying out the in their respective districts.

The participants showed ample enthusiasm and dedication during the first two days of the workshop. The participants will be visiting 12 villages of nearby districts on the 17th and19th Nov and carry out triggering exercise. These villages are untouched by CLTS approach and we are expecting some of these to be Open Defecation Free (ODF) in coming days.