A 2003 study by Mumbai-based SNDT University found that of the 1,017 rural women interviewed, only five had toilets at home. Others used fields and open spaces for defecation. This prompted The Art of Living to take up toilet construction as one of the key elements to social intervention initiatives.
“Where to relieve ourselves was not a choice at all. When we use fields and open spaces for defecation, we are always subject to fear of being shouted at, exposed to indignities and insulted. Many of our perrenial health problems vanished after we got this toilet.” - Gangamma, one of the beneficiaries for a scheme under which 175 toilets were built.
The Art of Living has built 5,760 toilets in India.