Emily Van Houweling is an associate professor in the Master of Development Practice program at Regis University. Her research blends anthropology, gender studies, political ecology, and critical development studies to contribute new insights about water and sanitation access and rights in low-income contexts. Her 15 years of experience on the topic span the academic and practitioner divide. Van Houweling' s work has been published in journals such as Society and Natural Resources, Gender, Place and Culture, and the Journal of Development Studies, and she has also contributed to making water and sanitation projects more inclusive and participatory.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Divergent development discourses; 3. Life before the handpumps; 4. Sustainability and sense of ownership; 5. The politics of water access; 6. Gender roles and water practices with the handpumps; 7. Development encounters; 8. Conclusions; Glossary; Bibliography.

'Yet more evidence that the aid industry seems unable to listen to local people - the supposed 'beneficiaries' - and instead imposes simplistic technical and economic solutions and repeats decades-old mistakes. This book shows that not only have donors and lenders not learned, but they are going backwards.' Joseph Hanlon, The Open University

Emily Van Houweling is an associate professor in the Master of Development Practice program at Regis University. Her research blends anthropology, gender studies, political ecology, and critical development studies to contribute new insights about water and sanitation access and rights in low-income contexts. Her 15 years of experience on the topic span the academic and practitioner divide. Van Houweling' s work has been published in journals such as Society and Natural Resources, Gender, Place and Culture, and the Journal of Development Studies, and she has also contributed to making water and sanitation projects more inclusive and participatory.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Divergent development discourses; 3. Life before the handpumps; 4. Sustainability and sense of ownership; 5. The politics of water access; 6. Gender roles and water practices with the handpumps; 7. Development encounters; 8. Conclusions; Glossary; Bibliography.

'Yet more evidence that the aid industry seems unable to listen to local people - the supposed 'beneficiaries' - and instead imposes simplistic technical and economic solutions and repeats decades-old mistakes. This book shows that not only have donors and lenders not learned, but they are going backwards.' Joseph Hanlon, The Open University

Emily Van Houweling is an associate professor in the Master of Development Practice program at Regis University. Her research blends anthropology, gender studies, political ecology, and critical development studies to contribute new insights about water and sanitation access and rights in low-income contexts. Her 15 years of experience on the topic span the academic and practitioner divide. Van Houweling' s work has been published in journals such as Society and Natural Resources, Gender, Place and Culture, and the Journal of Development Studies, and she has also contributed to making water and sanitation projects more inclusive and participatory.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Divergent development discourses; 3. Life before the handpumps; 4. Sustainability and sense of ownership; 5. The politics of water access; 6. Gender roles and water practices with the handpumps; 7. Development encounters; 8. Conclusions; Glossary; Bibliography.

'Yet more evidence that the aid industry seems unable to listen to local people - the supposed 'beneficiaries' - and instead imposes simplistic technical and economic solutions and repeats decades-old mistakes. This book shows that not only have donors and lenders not learned, but they are going backwards.' Joseph Hanlon, The Open University