Over the course of 10 months, Waterlution and CMC (Centro das Mulheres do Cabo, a feminist organization from Brazil) tested an innovative community-led, gender-equitable approach to WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) capacity building in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil. Learn more here about the process and impact of the FIT funded project “Innovative Community-led WASH Capacity Building: Strengthening Women’s Voices in Brazilian Water Governance”.
Meet some of the women and girls involved in the project in Charneca (a neighbourhood in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, in northeastern Brazil), who share the story of the methodology applied, the impact, and some of the unexpected outcomes.
Discover the improvements that the women of Charneca formally recommended on behalf of their community in the areas of Water; Sewage; Drainage and Barriers; Public Washooms; Health: Water monitoring and filters in schools; and Solid Waste Management.
The game was collaboratively created and helps users learn and engage with terms commonly used in the WASH field. It can be fully printed on paper and played: you only need scissors and glue. (Free and Available in Portuguese!)
The study examines gender inequalities in WASH governance. It highlights low female participation in decision-making, structural barriers, and the need for inclusive policies, capacity-building for women and girls, and greater male engagement to ensure more effective and equitable WASH solutions.
With our local partner, Centro das Mulheres do Cabo (CMC), we tested a new gender equality and WASH capacity-building programme in Bairro Charneca, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, in Northeast Brazil. The interlinkages between water, health, gender, innovation, and education were explored, with a strong focus on community engagement and women’s leadership in local water governance.
The project was structured in key stages, beginning with the training of local WASH leaders, followed by the co-creation of a gender-equitable community WASH diagnostic tool. This was complemented by capacity-building workshops and community-based water quality testing. Based on both quantitative and qualitative data collected through testing and surveys, participants collaboratively developed evidence-based public policy recommendations.
In total, the project engaged 133 direct participants, including 96 women and girls who played a central role in co-creating WASH policy recommendations. These recommendations were later presented to local stakeholders and addressed key themes such as water supply; sewage and sanitation; drainage and flooding barriers; public washrooms; health (including water monitoring and filters in schools); and solid waste management.
My name is Claudiane Maria da Silva. I live in the Charneca neighbourhood and am one of the leaders of the Água Delas Project. I feel very privileged to have participated in this project and that it came to our neighbourhood.
When the project arrived, it was a big change. I participated as a leader, and it was an experience that helped me grow a lot.
The Água Delas Project opened my mind to many things, including a better understanding of how we should use water in our homes and also think about the community as a whole.
Home to the Suape Port Industrial Complex, the municipality of Cabo de Santo Agostinho in the Metropolitan Region of Recife (RMR) has just over 200,000 residents. The community of Charneca, in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, widely suffer from absolute poverty and social inequalities including environmental racism, with the population concentrated in precarious settlements. Cabo de Santo Agostinho does not have a municipal sanitation policy or plan and has no municipal sanitation council or fund. Approximately 17,000 inhabitants have no access to water or garbage collection, and 87.5% of the population have no sewage collection treatment therefore disposing of their sewage in ditches or local water bodies. The community suffer from water insecurity with poor WASH infrastructure that continually disrupt and compromise the daily lives of the women beneficiaries and their families. The Pirapama Pipeline System, installed in 2011, captures water in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, benefitting more than 3.5 million people in five adjacent municipalities, however it excludes the two target communities of this project.
(based on tests and surveys)
Waterlution and Centro das Mulheres do Cabo (CMC) designed and implemented a gender-focused WASH programme in the vulnerable community of Charneca, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, engaging a total of 133 participants, including 96 women and girls. The initiative targeted women and girls, focusing on those most affected by limited access to safe water, inadequate sanitation, and unequal participation in decision-making processes related to WASH.
Together, we implemented a comprehensive methodology that included WASH leadership training, the co-creation of a gender-equitable community diagnostic tool, capacity-building workshops, and community water quality testing. These activities combined both theoretical and practical approaches, fostering knowledge exchange, critical reflection, and community engagement. Based on data collected through tests and surveys, participants collaboratively developed evidence-based public policy recommendations addressing key local challenges.
Importantly, the design and implementation of the programme placed women at the centre of the entire process. From the outset, women actively contributed to identifying challenges, shaping the diagnostic tools, and co-creating solutions. The approach assumed and reinforced that women are key agents of change in their communities, while also engaging other groups (men, boys, and local stakeholders) to promote more inclusive and equitable governance.
Capacity development was a central component of the project, strengthening participants’ knowledge in WASH, leadership, and community advocacy. Through this process, participants were able to better understand local water systems, articulate their needs, and engage with public authorities.
In the short term, the project aimed to improve local WASH conditions through actionable, community-driven recommendations. In the long term, it is expected to contribute to more inclusive governance processes, increased gender equity, and the empowerment of communities to advocate for sustainable and equitable access to water and sanitation services.
Testing Lead:
Dawn Fleming
dawn@waterlution.org
Local Partner
