A large number of informal settlements in Peru’s capital Lima are not connected to the public water supply and wastewater system. The result is dirty water that causes diseases and pollutes the environment – a problem that also affects the community of Monte de Israel. To help the people living there improve their living conditions and use natural resources sustainably, in 2020 two non-profit organisations – Latinka e.V., an association registered in Germany, and Ficus Perú, a Peruvian non-governmental organisation – implemented a participatory project. Their joint commitment received support from the Migration and Diaspora Programme on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

More than 40 community members attended workshops to learn where their water comes from and what health hazards arise if it is not conserved properly. In addition, the project showed them environmentally friendly sanitation solutions that would enable them to collect and treat water and effluents. The participants decided in favour of dry toilets. Following corresponding training, the project team handed over 39 construction kits to the community, whose members were able to put them together themselves.