Haath Mein Sehat (“Health in Your Hands”)

Water and Sanitation Education

Woman in Panchsheel Nagar collecting water in the morning. Mumbai, India. Photo Credit: Edith Han

Haath Mein Sehat (HMS), Hindi for “Health in Hands,” is a student organization at UC Berkeley that has been working to address water and sanitation issues in urban slums in Mumbai and Hubli (Karnataka) in India since 2004. HMS is continuing its mission through three sets of initiatives: developing and selling point-of-use technologies for effective water storage, engaging in research and advocacy of good sanitation habits, and implementing education and outreach programs. These interventions will involve the following field activities:

Point-of-Use (POU) Technology - HMS is developing and testing new technologies that can improve water sanitation for urban slum community members. After conducting in-depth evaluations and consumer analyses, HMS will bring new and effective products to the communities by establishing local supply chains and implementing culturally appropriate marketing strategies. HMS is evaluating new prototypes for safe water storage using desing based on user feedback. HMS is also evaluating the efficacy of liquid and solid forms of chlorine in hopes to better understand consumer preference.

Research and Advocacy - HMS is piloting a latrine counter technology that will serve as an important research tool and aid NGOs, governments and private organizations to build more effective latrine interventions. This technology will provide vital information to researchers around the world, which in turn will improve the efficacy of latrine interventions in the future.

Education and Outreach - HMS is refining a unique model for health education and behavior change that strives to increase healthy hygiene habits and focuses specifically on hand washing with soap. This model can be implemented in schools and in communities, and can easily be scaled up. HMS’s three programs allow the team to approach water sanitation problems in a holistic and organizationally sustainable manner.

Student Project Director: Emily Kumpel, MS/PhD student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Field Location: Mumbai and Hubli, India
Partners: PSI, India

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