What happened in 2008?
Garbage Traps
Garbage traps were built in canals in both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The whole process involved negotiations between the city councils, farmers, residents and the project team. The traps had to be managed and cleaned so we needed to ensure that everyone was involved and a cleaning and monitoring plan was in place.
Service Station Treatment Plants
Small treatment plants were constructed in 4 service stations in Kurunegala. They were designed by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and very cleverly use local materials and equipment to provide an inexpensive but effective treatment plant. The service stations have been provided with posters to promote their eco-credentials. It is hoped that other service stations will see the benefits of the treatment plants and copy them. The Municipal Council has agreed to monitor their use and effectiveness.
Wilgoda Improvements
The community living near the canal in Wilgoda, Kurunegala were facing a number of sanitation and hygiene problems. Their latrines were not working, the septic tank was overflowing and the water supply near the latrines was unreliable. There was also a lack of hygiene awareness and behaviour in the community. The project team worked with the community and their Community Based Organization (CBO) to rebuild the latrines, empty and improve the septic tank, clean the well, replace the tubewell and move the tap to a more convenient location. They also formed a women’s group and a children’s environmental group to try to improve hygiene and sanitation. If you want to know more about these activities please see our publications page.
Street Drama
In December 2008 a professional theatre company put on a street show that they had working on with NGO Forum. The theatre was designed to teach people about the hygiene and the risks of not washing and cooking vegetables and fruit properly. It covered all sorts of aspects of sanitation, hygiene and health and it seems like the audiences thoroughly enjoyed it as well as learning a lot. The play was shown every day for a week in several parts of the city.
The show was followed up with distribution of calendars with pictures to remind people about the sanitation messages.
