Creating a New Social Norm –
Open Defecation Free Communities
Why Sanitation?
Professional Perspective
Users Perspective
Improves Health
Privacy
Enhances Social Development
Social Status (modern)
Dignity and privacy for women and girls
Generates economic benefits
Protects the Environment
Health
Economic
Existing Situation: Open Defecation Widespread in Community
(Few people in the community have toilets, Majority practice OD)
No Empirical expectation to use a toilet.
Is this a Social dilemma?
Others
Use Toilet
Defecate in the Open
(1)
(2)
S
B
Use Toilet
S
(3)
ME
W
W (4)
T
Defecate in the open
B
T
B = Best, S = Second, T = Third, W = Worst
Red = Me, Green = Others
( ) Refers to box code used in explanation below
Table 1.
Existing Social Dilemma on Toilet use in a community
A new social norm – open defecation free community
OTHERS
Follow Norm
Disobey Norm
Use Toilet
Defecate in Open
(1)
B
Follow Norm
Use Toilet
ME
Disobey Norm
Defecate in
open
(2)
B
(3)
T
T
W
W (4)
S
B = Best, S = Second, T = Third, W = Worst
Red = Me, Green = Others
( ) Refers to box code used in explanation below
S
Old Approaches
New Approaches
Building Toilets
Changing Social Norms
Individual/family
Social/Community
Health Message Focused
Economic, Social, Health, disgust,
Top – Down & Externally Driven
Community led –Internal, demand driven
Didactic
Participatory – natural & traditional leaders
Technologies predetermined
Local technologies, community capacity
Subsidized
Rewards – PRIDE – celebration
Don’t mention the S*** word
Talk SHIT – faeces, Poo, Kaka, toilets,
latrines
CLTS Tools Example
Transect Walk
Transect Walk
Transect Walk
Transect Walk
Mapping
Shit calculation/Health care cost
Hair/Shit/Water
Bread/Shit/Flies
Community Action Plan
Community Based M&E
Community Builds latrines
Mali case study - Open Defecation Free status
 Each family has a latrine equipped
with a cover that limits the
proliferation of flies from the pits ;
 All members of the family exclusively
use such latrine to defecate ;
 Each latrine is equipped with a hand
washing device (water + soap / water +
ash bucket)
CLTS in Mali – first results
Results in terms of latrine coverage in the 15 first
ODF villages 3 month after triggering  latrine
coverage increased from average of 30% to 100%
CLTS in Mali – What mobilizes the communities
CLTS in Mali – What mobilizes the communities
Shame and disgust:
 The community realizes that they ingest each other’s
excreta for lack of hygiene and sanitation
 Contradictory statements on whether or not OD
(kids/elders, male/female, etc.)
 “This is what we have learnt from you” : Non-prescriptive
 “Don’t change till external help comes in to solve your
problems”
CLTS in Mali – What mobilizes the communities
Pride and dignity:
 Use of the video tools/media mobilization: the name of the
village needs to be respected - puts pressure to honor
commitments
 Answering the call of children (singing slogans) and
women asking to husbands and chiefs to take action
 Supporting the traditional chiefs to take good decisions for
their communities
 Bringing local authorities to listen to communities
 Celebration of the ODF status: competition on the size of
the event
How CLTS works: From theory to
practice
• Communicate around socio-ethnically relevant issues:
CLTS based around the universal emotions of shame
and disgust (not health based).
• Community Engagement: CLTS works directly with
community members. A CLTS facilitator is “there to
learn”. It is not a prescriptive strategy; there are no
latrine plans given.
• Triggering: The CLTS tools facilitate a dialogue around
sanitation that ultimately arrives at a situation where
the community members themselves decide to change
their situation. The tools are designed to arrive at this
moment
How CLTS works: From theory to
practice
• Public Declaration: A public declaration is made by
community members to stop open defecation. This is the
moment when the new social norm is created
• Community Action Plan and Monitoring: The community
develops their own plan on how to improve their sanitation
situation and sets time limits. Community members are able
to see who has complied with the new social norm and who
hasn’t. This creates a community “by-law” that is selfenforced.
• Incentives: CLTS creates both internal and external incentives
to achieving ODF status. Positive internal incentives include
showing pride in their community and negative internal
incentives include shame and disgust in the act of open
defecation. External incentives include the ODF certification
process and the celebration for achieving the ODF status.
How CLTS works: From theory to
practice
• Diffusion: Through the celebration process, traditional and political
leaders are engaged from neighboring communities and districts.
As CLTS is scaled up, there is also national diffusion through
national level celebrations and awards.
• Network Theory: During the triggering, “natural leaders” are
identified through their participation in the process. These leaders
are then implicated closely in the process to ensure community
compliance and offer support as needed. These natural leaders are
also then implicated in triggering in nearby villages, often alongside
traditional leaders and local political leaders.
• Rural targeting: CLTS typically concentrates on the rural sector
where there is a strong sense of community. When CLTS has been
applied to peri-urban areas, there have been mixed results due to
the weakened sense of community, issues surrounding land rights,
and the increased material costs of building latrines.
Network
Theory
Target
Audience
Diffusion
Incentives
Other extensions of
social norm
theory???
Community
M&E
Community
engagement
Triggering
Public
Declaration
Open Defecation Free Communities – A new Social Norm