The Department of Foreign Affairs and Vita Impact is pleased to announce the launch of the book Institutional Triggering: A Guide to take CLTS to Scale by internationally acclaimed community-led development specialist, Dr. Kamal Kar. The book has been launched by Minister of State at the Dept of Foreign Affairs, Mr Seán Fleming, TD.
About the Book
Institutional Triggering is a highly evolved and innovative methodology designed to engage decision-makers and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector leaders, convincing them of the efficacy of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). CLTS is a uniquely effective, community-driven approach that has empowered communities in 73 countries to end open defecation, invest in sanitation improvements, and adopt safe hygiene practices. Since its inception 21 years ago, Dr Kar’s CLTS model has improved the sanitation of over 200 million people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Vita Impact has been working with Dr Kar in Ethiopia since 2006 and is now pioneering Community Led Total Cookstoves there for a target of two million households.
Improved cookstoves deliver immediate and transformative health, gender and climate impacts for women and their families so finding a model that enables this programme to scale quickly and cost-effectively is a game-changer in developing countries.
Upon launching the book, Minister Fleming remarked “I congratulate Dr. Kar on his new book Institutional Triggering: A Guide to take CLTS to Scale, which is another important chapter in the CLTS story. By providing guidelines on a scaling-up approach to CLTS, it will help many vulnerable communities around the world have a better standard of living.”
The book challenges traditional misconceptions about the poor’s capacity to improve their own sanitation and development. It provides a step-by-step guide for scaling up CLTS through institutional support and decision-making.
“We are only six years away from the SDG target of liberating the world from the pangs of open defecation practices. Communities all over the world have proved their willingness and capabilities of ending the practise of open defecation through their own hygiene behaviour change but it is the institutions who need to engage themselves proactively in strengthening the community’s local action and enhance the process of making the world ODF. Time is running out.”
About the Author
Dr. Kamal Kar is an international development specialist with decades of experience working in over 73 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific. He has pioneered innovative approaches in natural resource management and low-cost technologies in farming, in addition to his work on urban poverty, slum improvement, and local governance. Dr. Kar has worked closely with Vita to deliver the highly evolved community-led stoves programme that effectively enables communities – especially women – to adopt the cookstoves.
For further information
Contact Person
Ciara Feehely – Head of Communications and Fundraising, Vita E-mail: ciara.feehely@vita.ie or call 087 6177433
