Residents of Giripurwo, a small village of approximately 8,100 inhabitants (BPS, 2023) located in the hilly region of Wonogiri district of Central Java, have been struggling for years to meet their clean water and sanitation needs. Most villagers are smallholder farmers or laborers and earn too little to afford safely managed drinking water and sanitation facilities.
In 2023, USAID IUWASH Tangguh conducted a participatory assessment on water and sanitation issues in the village by engaging the community, health centers, and other local stakeholders. The findings indicated that 11 families used unprotected water sources, 16 households lived without toilets, while 738 families did not have any toilets with septic tanks. According to Ngatini, a community volunteer, limited financial capacity was one of the main challenges for water and sanitation facility improvements.
Tulardi’s family is one of the households that have no access to clean water or their own toilet. When needed, they must rely on their neighbors’ or walk to the nearest public toilet – a kilometer away from their house. “I wanted to build one, but I cannot afford it,” he elaborated. As a masseur, Tulardi earns very little money. Unfortunately, three years ago, Tulardi lost his wife when she was collecting water. “We had to climb down the steep footpath at least three times a week to collect water from a well belonging to one of our neighbors,” Tulardi elaborated. “At that time, we had no well and paid them IDR 20,000 per month for the water.” On that fateful day, he continued, “I found my wife on the ground in front of our house. She might have slipped and fallen during her return trip fetching water downhill. She was carrying a gallon of water on her back.”
The next year, Tulardi was one of several household recipients for new toilets with septic tanks and water utility connections through a corporate social responsibility initiative. As one of the project’s pilot locations, USAID IUWASH Tangguh and the District of Wonogiri worked with the private sector, village governments, local agencies, and community to build toilets with septic tanks for nine families and water utility connections for seven households. Ngatini described how volunteers from her community participated in the assessment, selection of potential beneficiaries, up to the construction process.
Tulardi’s family and other beneficiaries have since enjoyed the benefits of having piped water access and toilets with septic tanks in their homes. “Having piped water and a private toilet in our home is very convenient and has forever changed our lives,” said Tulardi smiling.
With construction completed in 2023, USAID IUWASH Tangguh continues to work with the local municipality and key stakeholders to help other low-income families improve their access to water and sanitation through the Special Allocation Fund (DAK) national grants program.
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