The Clean Water Project
Projects
Clean Water
Cultural Database
ESL Assessment
Housing Interviews
Pueblo Remains
Silvernale Village
Charity Assessment
Zwelihle Playground
Projects Home
EMuseum Home
Findings
The team of anthropologists found Claro products had not been widely accepted. Most people in the communities did not perceive their water as unsanitary or conducive to diseases: of the people interviewed, 90% believed their water was "good" or "very good." Only 30% of informants identified dirty water as a known cause of diarrhea and 40% identified sanitation as a possible cause. However, their perception of "clean" and "sanitary" was associated with the visibility of dirt. Since many people did not think diarrheal diseases were caused by polluted water, they did not feel the need for water purification and sanitary containers.
The anthropologists suggested that the way water is transported may contribute to contamination, though they did not document a statistical correlation. Water was often transported and stored in containers caked with mud and algae on the interior and only 47% of the containers had covers. Water was often transported by hand by children who were observed sticking hands and mouths in and around the container opening. Water was transported an average of 150 meters from the home. The average family made about four trips for water per day. Women ranked access to water first among community needs. Data from the rapid assessment study and interviews indicated a significant decrease in water consumption with increasing distance of households from a water source. Limited access to water decreases the use of water for washing.
The administrators of the Claro project identified water quality and storage as key factors in the rate of diarrhea in rural Bolivia. However, the anthropologists observed other risk factors for diarrhea besides clean drinking water. In many compounds they found open-pit latrines, garbage scattered inside and outside the house, and unclean kitchen utensils and eating surfaces. Animals wandered freely in the majority of homes, sometimes defecating in the house where children played on the floor. Hands and food were rarely washed.Sources:
Lind, Jason D.
2000 Biomedical Perspectives vs. Ethnomedical Perceptions: A Look at Health Beliefs and
Behaviors Relating to Diarrhea in Lowland Bolivia. Master's Thesis. Minnesota State University,
Mankato.
Murphy, Arthur, Winifred Mitchell,
Brian Riley, and 4 others.
1997 Proyecto de Agua Segura: "Claro" Ethnography, Intervention
and Evaluation.
Technical Report
presented to USAID/CCH, LA PAZ, and BOLIVIA.
Zeitlin, Marian
1995 Developmental, Behavioral, and Environmental Risk Factors for Diarrhoea Among
Rural Bangladeshi Children of Less than Two Years.
Journal of Diarrhoeal Disease Research 13:99-105.
1997
Marketing book for the Claro
program in Bolivia.