Banheiro seco: tecnologia social para a promoção da saúde em comunidades situadas na zona rural do Baixo Munim, Maranhão.

Abstract

This thesis analyses technical, economic and social viability of dry bathrooms as social technologies turned to promote health in communities of rural area from Baixo Munim Planning Region – MA. In order to proceed the analysis, this work presents the results of the project Alternative Technologies to Water and Human Waste Treatment in Baixo Munim Region-MA, which was developed by Universidade Federal do Maranhão. The project had promoted the construction of dry bathrooms Bason model in ten communities placed in rural areas of the municipalties Axixá, Cachoeira Grande, Icatu, Morros and Presidente Juscelino. The execution of the project broke the assumptions that the dry bathrooms are social technology possible to be implanted in rural areas communities that have no access to collect and treatment of sanitary sewer services. Another assumption is that communities have human and material resources that were mobilized to implant the technology. The development of the project presented as implementation prerogative the very participative perspective of a constant dialogue with communities. The process of negotiation, which was set up with mobilizations and articulations and later socialization of the project, was marked by participative and collective methodologies, by means of Fast Participative Diagnosis techniques. In a generic way, the proposal of the project (bathrooms built) had followed the main contemporary socio-environmental guidelines. Despite being current actions in line with the main political, social and environmental guidelines, the proposal of implementation of dry bathrooms in rural communities of Baixo Munim Planning Region had showed, exactly by that, extremely complex in its implementation. That fact reflected in high interest, but limited social participation in the building processes of the bathrooms in the communities. From an academic and technical reading, and considering the social-economic and sanitary reality of the target communities, the dry bathroom Bason-model presents itself as a suitable alternative to those communities, because of its assumptions of low environmental impact, improvement of sanitary conditions of local dwellers, low cost and possibilities of social participation in its implementation.