People's Consultants
(a.k.a. Agua del Pueblo – USA)
Make a Lasting Difference
Since our founding in 1972, we have focused on water and sanitation in Guatemala, and in 2022, we added human rights to our mission. We are the U.S. sister organization to the Guatemalan NGO Agua del Pueblo, which implements our work there.
Interested in joining our next summit?
At The People’s Consultants, our mission is to stand alongside communities, organizations, and individuals in developing countries with real, practical support—so they can secure their basic human rights: health, clean water, and education that unlocks their full potential. We focus on building skills, knowledge, and local capacity so people can take effective action on their own behalf and create lasting change in their communities. We’re now preparing our next summit to Guatemala and are looking for people who want to be actively involved in this work on the ground. Learn More and Apply
We are the oldest non-governmental organization focused on
water and sanitation in the world!
How we help
Potable Water
As our name implies, we have dedicated much of our engineering expertise to developing water infrastructure. In our early days, most of our projects were spring-captured gravity systems, considered the 'low hanging fruit.' These projects are notable for their incredibly low cost of operation and maintenance. However, all our systems include a community "tax," meaning every beneficiary family pays a monthly fee for operation and maintenance.
Sanitation
We've focused on sanitation due to WHO data showing that sanitation is more cost-effective than water for health. However, our beneficiaries consider many other factors in addition to health that water provides. At a minimum, all beneficiaries install ventilated improved pit latrines. Recently, we have added hand washing stations. We are also experimenting with more comprehensive systems that incorporate laundry washing (pilas). These systems connect several homes to a grease trap, biodigester, and wetland treatment.
Community Development
Water and sanitation are means, not an end. We have developed and refined our methodology over the past 50 years. The core of this methodology is community control. In every AdP project, the community must lead all decisions, from our first visit to the operation and maintenance of the system. Researchers have found that community leadership fosters both community and economic development (Chipman, Strait, and Clemens, 2014; Sauer, Smith, and Clemens, 2012; Clemens and Douglas, 2012).
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