“Voices At The Table” toolkit equips WASH actors for inclusive practices

Members of a persons with disability group in Sumbawa district pose for a group photo after a participatory research action session and Voices At The Table consultation meeting. They are looking at the camera and holding their thumbs up. Some are sitting crossed legged on a carpet while others are seated or standing behind them. On the wall behind them, a banner features the meeting details and the logos of the project partner organisations.

Members of a persons with disability group in Sumbawa pose for a photo after a participatory action research session and Voices At The Table consultation meeting (Yayasan Plan International Indonesia)

A comprehensive toolkit of participatory approaches and resources to engage with women, people with disabilities, and people from sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups is supporting water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) actors to deliver more inclusive and responsive programs.

The Voices At The Table Toolkit (VATT), developed by Edge Effect in collaboration with Yayasan Plan International Indonesia (YPII), Plan International Australia and Arus Pelangi, consolidates best practices and theorises the principles of inclusion through participatory action research (PAR) activities.

Supported by the Australian Government through a Water for Women Innovation and Impact (I&I) grant, the VATT provides a guide for Indonesian and international WASH practitioners in deepening inclusive WASH practices through step-by-step instructions and the application of PAR in project contexts. It serves as a valuable resource for practitioners seeking to enhance their understanding of and engagement with women, people with disabilities, and people from sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities.

The toolkit comprises a series of activities, each divided into sections based on phases of a project cycle and with guidance on how to adapt the activity for different disability, gender and SGM target groups. For each principle, theory, activity and case study, an outline explains interlinkages and common uses within a WASH context, and how they can be adapted for different communities and different types of WASH projects.

Pivoting due to COVID-19 restrictions in Indonesia and Australia, planned PAR advisory groups shifted to the gathering of advice and input from six PAR groups involved in the Water for Women project, WASH and Beyond: Transforming Lives in Eastern Indonesia, which the research project both built on and further informed. Although the COVID-19 pivot impacted the consultation process, it provided the PAR groups with more opportunities to engage and share their perspectives, ultimately contributing to the toolkit’s development and finalisation.

The consultation process involved eight meetings in Sumbawa and Manggarai jointly facilitated by YPII, Arus Pelangi and Edge Effect and supported by local organisations such as Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (PKK), also known as Family Welfare Movement, and organisations of persons with disabilities. The consultations engaged with 76 PAR participants, including women, people with disabilities and people from SGM communities, who provided valuable input for the toolkit's content and usability.

“This toolkit will help us to continue the working in collaboration with LGBTIQ+ people in Indonesia and helps us to consider the intersections of LGBT and women and people with disabilities and working in inclusive ways. In this project we have learnt so much.”

- Arus Pelangi representative

Launched at the Water and WASH Futures Conference in Brisbane in February and shared by YPII with stakeholders in Indonesia in March 2023, the toolkit is now available in English, along with a series of 25 illustration cards that feature details in both English and Bahasa Indonesian.

Members of a women's group in Manggarai district participate in a simulation activity during the evaluation at the end of a Voices At The Table consultation meeting. They are standing in a circle and on colourful mats with pictures on them and some are holding the ends of lengths of rope that stretch across the central space between participants.

Members of a women’s group in Manggarai participate in a simulation activity during the evaluation at the end of a VATT consultation meeting (Yayasan Plan International Indonesia)

Broader WASH sector contributions

Development of the toolkit demonstrates overwhelming support for collaboration with community members, particularly those from underrepresented groups. The participants' inputs have greatly enriched the content, which is now supporting WASH practitioners in Indonesia and can be applied by others in other country contexts.

Lessons learnt throughout the project emphasise the importance of ongoing engagement with participants and avoidance of exclusivity within marginalised groups. By maintaining an open and inclusive approach, project partners ensured that all participants had the opportunity to contribute their perspectives and experiences, ultimately enhancing the toolkit's effectiveness.

The VATT is now playing a vital role in empowering WASH practitioners to foster inclusivity and ensure the meaningful participation of women, people with disabilities and people from SGM communities in WASH projects, including within Plan International’s current Water for Women project in Indonesia, Climate-Resilient and Inclusive WASH.

Project partners also continue to promote the use of PAR methodologies and activities and offer guidance on co-designing WASH-related initiatives at the community level.

This project and the toolkit are testament to the power of collaboration, research, and inclusive methodologies in advancing the goal of climate-resilient and inclusive WASH for all.

Learning and knowledge from the project: