Local people in the remote Nepalese settlement of Tistung continue to defecate in the open, despite every household being equipped with a toilet. They use the toilets to store fodder and firewood or distil wine.

The toilets were installed with financial support of Rs. 3500 per household from Plan Makwanpur and technical assistance from the Rural Awareness and Development Organisation (Rado) Nepal. A spokesman from Rado Nepal said that people are completely ignorant of good sanitation practices. A local teacher agreed, saying that the toilets are used for other purposes because of a lack of public awareness on health and sanitation. One man's response, however, showed that, in the eyes of the local people, they are putting the toilets to good use: 'We can defecate anywhere,' he said, 'but our fodder will rot if we leave it out in the rain.'

Related news: South Asia: 778 million still practice open defecation, safe water use has improved, says new report, Source, 18 Jul 2008

Source: Pratap Bista, NGO Forum, 16 Jun 2008

Tags: hygiene promotion, rural wash, solid waste management, south asia