At the beginning of the project, the IWRM Tuvalu team considered together all possible stakeholders and in which way they may impact/be impacted by the project (community, government). Stakeholder participation within the IWRM Tuvalu project has focused on community engagement and has included unique activities. As Tuvaluans design the compost toilets in Tuvalu for Tuvaluans, the IWRM Tuvalu project decided that the Tuvaluan community should feel ownership of this new toilet.

There is no Tuvaluan word for composting toilet and as such, a communications committee was formed to develop a new word for composting toilets. Falevatie is the new Tuvaluan word for the compost toilets designed and constructed under the IWRM Tuvalu project. It translates as “a toilet which does not use water, is good for the environment and for you”. This new word clearly distinguishes between drop pit toilets and Compost Toilets (Falevatie). Many activities have been used to promote this new term and provide opportunities for stakeholders to discuss issues with the project staff and champions.

Activities include; Road shows, participation in National Environmental awareness Festivals, hosting World Water Day week long activities, use of media and radio, quarterly newsletters, inter-department meetings and meetings with high impacting stakeholders, committees, competitions, in school workshops, community leader workshops, Falevatie volunteer workshops, meetings with womens and youth groups and workshops held with each island community individually, to name a few. These strategies have unitized ambassadors, champions and in collaboration with experts from other departments/NGO’s and has been useful in promoting water conservation and domestic water management methods as well as Falevatie.