Since 2000, in the course of implementation of its campaign “Drinking Water in Ukraine”, Ukrainian NGO MAMA-86 studied problems of decentralized water supply, in particular, the problem of quality of well water in rural settlements of Poltavska, Chernigivska and Ivano-Frankivska oblasts.
In November 2003, in partnership with Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), MAMA-86 launched its project “Co-operation for Sustainable Rural Development: Drinking Water Supply, Eco-sanitation, and Organic Agriculture”. The project was implemented for 3 years and was supported by MATRA Program of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the villages of Vorothka (Yarmeche, Ivanofrankivsk oblast), Bobrik (Verjevka, Nizhin) and Gozhuly (Poltava). In order to contribute to the rural development and to improve the public health and the economical situation, this project implemented demonstration projects and organized awareness raising campaigns in the areas of water, sanitation and agriculture. To empower the local population and authorities, they were actively involved into the project.
The project activities ranged from public awareness campaigns, stakeholder and public events, gender-economic-social analyses, laboratory tests, obtaining hydroecological and health data, discussing business and engineering plans with local authorities, strengthening community capacity to seek for sustainable alternatives in use and disposal of wastewater and infrastructure measures that were implemented in 3 pilot regions. Each of these regions focused on the same environmental and health problems, however, specific approaches and methods were applied.