Shobar Jonno Pani (SJP)

Area of Focus:

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Geography:

Bangladesh

Almost 20 percent of Bangladeshis do not have access to a source of clean, safe drinking water and 44 percent do not have access to a functioning sanitation system. This results in poor health conditions and environmental degradation, with water contaminated by waste.

Shobar Jonno Pani (SJP), or Water for All, was created in 2010 by French NGO, Eau et Vie. It works to ensure permanent access to reliable, treated water services in deprived urban neighbourhoods, by providing piped water directly to homes at an affordable price. SJP has an agreement with communities and local authorities to build and distribute their water networks, as well as build a billing and payment network. It also provides behaviour change and community support, such as awareness about the importance of drinking clean water and builds fire hydrants into the water network, training a squad of female firefighters from the local community to use them.

TRANSFORM funded the testing of a new service selling biofil toilets, using earthworms to treat waste, similar to a garden composter. The project helped SJP to scale the business in Dhaka and put in place a customer-facing value proposition, a brand logo and materials to publicise the business. A video was also created.

Through TRANSFORM, the Unilever team also shared behaviour change experience to help SJP develop campaigns on menstrual health management and handwashing, adapting Lifebuoy materials for a low-income context for the first time. This included interactive elements via posters, puzzles and story books, immediately increasing understanding among school children and women. During the pandemic, training for staff to use personal protective equipment and maintain services safely was also included.