Participative actions in rural sanitation: conceptual bases and methodological guidelines

Abstract

Social participation is a fundamental component in the promotion of rural sanitation. However, different conceptual and methodological challenges on the use of Participatory Methodologies (PM) still emerge in the literature regarding who are the main social actors involved and how intervention mechanisms have contributed to rural sanitation actions. Thus, this research aims to characterize the use of PM employed in rural sanitation solutions by different social actors, at the state level. For this purpose, the experiences of rural sanitation in the state of Goiás carried ou with funding from the government, between 2007 and 2019, were investigated with semi-structured interviews and questionnaire application to leaders and/or technicians of government and civil society entities. In summary, the experiences investigated showed that both categories of social actors have used PM in their approaches, categorizing them by stages and typologies, in line with Geilfus. The study concluded that the use of PM contributed to the process of raising awareness about local socio-environmental issues and motivating a critical reflection regarding one’s own participation, thus stimulating greater intervention and interaction of participants with the proposed discussion agenda.