Community-Led Sanitation in Simoonga, Zambia

This paper describes a sanitation project conducted by students from the University of Virginia and the University of Georgia. The authors describe their collaboration with a network of partners in Zambia to design and build communal latrines. The process of project development is presented including project scope and team building both at UVA and with the partners in Zambia. The paper discusses researching rural latrine designs and the preliminary construction of a prototype in Charlottesville. The authors examine the processes of community engagement in Simoonga and the strategies for bringing together the UVA team and the network of local partners. The paper outlines the iterative design and construction process as well as a discussion of project challenges, resolutions, results and lessons learned. This includes the overall goal of undertaking these processes while staying true to the community-led approach, where the community members themselves are empowered to collaborate on the project. The team strove to implement a project attuned to local realities and powered by local people and resources. Furthermore, it was the team's hope that such a project would continue to inspire positive community initiatives beyond its completion in July of 2010.