ASHWAS: A Survey of Household Water and Sanitation, Karnataka

Click here to download the report.

ASHWAS (A Survey of Household Water and Sanitation) is a participatory survey conducted by Arghyam with the support of partner NGOs to ascertain the status of domestic water and sanitation in rural Karnataka from a citizen perspective, and to create awareness on water and sanitation issues and introduce a participatory approach to deal with these issues. The survey covered 17,200 households in 172 gram panchayats (GPs) across 28 districts of the State during 2008-09. In addition, separate information was collected from gram panchyat officials and village elders.   

The survey was highly interactive as it encouraged villagers to participate not only to provide their views on the water and sanitation issues but also to test the quality of water being used from different sources. Water quality testing kits were provided which quickly delivered an indicative result on parameters such as nitrates, fluoride and bacteriological contamination. 

 
The findings from ASHWAS provide quantative feedback on user perceptions of services, information on status, quality, adequacy, distribution, reliability and efficiency of water and sanitation services. The report has also highlighted the health and hygiene status and governance issues in light of water and sanitation.

The output of the survey includes:

1. Report card of sampled GPs, highlighting issues, suggesting best practices and include solutions. The objective of the report card is to share the results with the respondents and GPs in order to enhance a shared understanding of the problems. It is hoped that the results and the awareness that the report creates will empower citizens and GPs to make important decisions to enhance the water supply and sanitation situation in their GP.

2. A State report inclusive of reports on 28 districts intended for the use of district and state level governments, research institutions, advocacy organizations and citizens of Karnataka.   

Key words: water, sanitation, governance, Gram Panchayat

ASHWAS Process Handbook: Planning and execution guide for participatory surveys of household water and sanitation

Click here to download the handbook. Optimized ASHWAS process foldout can be accessed here.

Following ASHWAS, several organizations expressed interest in conducting an ASHWAS-like exercise. Hence, we decided to put down our experiences and lessons learnt in form of a handbook, titled “ASHWAS Process Handbook: Planning and Execution Guide for Participatory Surveys of Household Water and Sanitation”.

The purpose of this process handbook is to serve as a useful template for those planning to embark on a similar initiative. The intention was to capture all the details along with issues that we faced and what we might do differently in hindsight. This handbook preparation extended over several months. It involved discussions with stakeholders, extensive analysis and structuring of information. In the handbook we have detailed out the scope of each activity along with the resources, skills and time needed at each stage of the survey.
 
We hope that this document will enable you/your organisation to plan more effectively if you embark on an ASHWAS-like initiative. Perhaps it will inspire you to take up a participatory citizen’s survey of domestic water and sanitation! We would love to hear your feedback on the document; please write to ayan@arghyam.org
 
In case you need a hard copy of the publication, we may be able to help you. Please send in your request to info@arghyam.org