We tested Communal Tiger Worm Toilets in challenging conditions in Myanmar, and evaluated their sustainability. The ‘Tiger Team’ talk us through their findings. As increasing numbers of people are living in camp settings for longer, we need more sustainable alternatives to commonly used pit latrines. Tiger Worm Toilets (TWTs) are a novel sanitary solution that contain composting worms to digest …
We’re changing up ‘From Poverty to Power’
In the 11 years since I launched this blog, it’s churned out getting on for 2 million words across 2,500+ posts, generating 12,600 comments (thanks everyone). It’s time to change things up.
Law as a tool to empower and achieve change
Noélie Coudurier, Sreetama Gupta Bhaya and Laura Gyte share a wealth of examples demonstrating how law can help drive positive change. As campaigners, we can feel ambivalent about law. As a product of society, it’s often structured to protect the privileged. Even the most progressive constitutions in the world, forged in times of political transformation and hope, are not yet …
A different approach to water management in Nepal
How a financially viable management model could work to ensure sustained safe water access for communities long after project’s end.
Tax Havens Free Zones. Where think global, act local is more than just a slogan.
Rodrigo Barahona and Susana Ruiz describe how the Tax Havens Free Zones initiative is gathering momentum in the fight against inequality and poverty. When large companies and wealthy individuals divert part of their income to tax havens, this leaves governments without the resources they need to address poverty and invest in healthcare, education and jobs. Oxfam analyzed 200 of the …
New voices tearing up outdated economic norms and practices
Young women in Ghana are calling out the double standards that put them at an economic disadvantage. Kwesi W Obeng draws parallels with Oxfam’s work on tax and gender. Some of Ghana’s brightest and most educated young women are openly criticising deeply entrenched cultural, social and religious norms that restrict women, dim aspirations and undermine their contribution to society. Under …
When failure is an option
Innovative, unfiltered, and impact-driven. Lyndsay Stecher describes what it means for Oxfam to work in partnership with trusts and foundations. Everything we do at Oxfam is possible because of funding. We are not naïve to the fact that this has an impact on programme decisions. Funding provides great opportunities, but when misapplied, it can also drive the wrong priorities. Last …
How inequality was digitalised
At some point this year, half the world will be online. That is remarkable progress. But, we cannot simply assume that technology – or access to it – is a force for social good.
How small and regular design tweaks can make a big difference to latrine use
Communications Advisor, Tanya Glanville-Wallis, talks us through the process of developing Sani Tweaks—a series of communications tools for technical staff, promoting best practices in sanitation. Visiting the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, I reflected on just how few women use emergency latrines. Having worked in the humanitarian sector for years, using camp latrines is nothing new to me. Yet …