The death of Dr Kamal Kar, pioneer of Community-Led Total Sanitation, on May 3 has been devastating for all the people around the world who knew and worked with him.
Here we present some tributes from the IDS community.
Lyla Mehta, Professional Fellow, IDS
Kamal da, as he was affectionately known to many, was the pioneer of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), a participatory community-driven approach that motivates communities to build their own toilets and eliminate open defecation.
From its humble beginnings in Bangladesh in 2000, CLTS radically transformed the sanitation sector globally and is now practised in over 73 countries around the world. Thanks to Kamal da, talking about ‘shit’ was no longer a taboo from the mid 2000s onwards, and the push to open defecation free villages, districts and countries became part of sanitation policies and programmes around the world. Little wonder that he was on the Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global thinkers list in 2010 ‘for doing the world’s dirty work’, and also the recipient of many other prestigious awards.
Kamal da was a great friend of IDS, and an Honorary Associate. He came as a visiting fellow to IDS every year with his family since the 1990s and had a long association with Robert Chambers. Both were pioneers of participatory approaches in a range of development issues, from poverty to agriculture and livelihoods that Kamal da applied to sanitation in this century. At IDS he had time to work on publications and reflect, and also spend time in discussions with staff and students.
I got to know Kamal da in 2006 when Robert Chambers convinced me to engage with sanitation. A generous grant from DFID (as it was known then) enabled by Peregrine Swann led to the first multi-country CLTS research programme. It was quite daunting for me as a then early – mid career researcher to be leading a project with two charismatic participation and sanitation giants such as Kamal da and Robert Chambers, often talking endlessly and also over each other. But Kamal da was super supportive, respectful and enabling. We continued to work on different projects and endeavours, for example, on Transformative Waste led by Gavin Collins (University of Galway) and I also got involved in activities of the CLTS Foundation that he founded in 2009 in Kolkata.
Kamal da had an extraordinary presence, constantly exuding huge warmth and enthusiasm. For over two decades, he was highly coveted on the global stage interacting constantly with international donors and high-powered ministers across Africa and Asia whom he often provocatively challenged for their rigid mind-sets and inability to change. He had the ability to make everybody feel special and important, from villagers to students, NGO workers and government officials in remote districts. He had boundless energy, passion and enthusiasm – an inspirational changemaker who led by influence and touched thousands of lives around the world, especially in the WASH and development sectors.
CLTS stands out as a global South led innovation that also spread through South-South learning and exchanges, often facilitating through donors such as the Water and Sanitation Programme, UNICEF etc. But CLTS is not without contradictions, not least due to issues around equity, sustainability and waste disposal (often known as the second and third generation challenges). Official programmes can become toilet counting exercises rather than focussing on safe sanitation and sustainable access.
We argued a lot about whether gender, caste and power are neglected in the CLTS approach, and about impacts on the poorest. We also disagreed about Indian and Bengali politics. But we kept reconnecting. He had the knack to bring diverse groups of people together, and there were always great conversations over delicious meals cooked by his gracious wife Swati. We did great work together on projects, trips and workshop and also had a lot of fun. I will always be grateful to him for being my mentor, amazing colleague and friend. Kamal da’s passing is a huge loss for all those who knew him and the world. My heartfelt condolences to Swati and Zubin and family.
He will be badly missed but we can only take comfort in knowing that Kamal da’s legacy to push for total sanitation and create an open defecation free world will endure. Sanitation remains one of the most off-track SDGs, with persistent second- and third-generation challenges in achieving truly “total” sanitation. It is now for all those he worked with and inspired to carry this vital work forward.
Thank you for everything Kamal da. Rest in peace and power.
Preetha Prabhakaran, IDS alumna, MA Gender and Development
Kamal da was truly one of a kind. There is probably no one in the WASH sector whose life he hadn’t touched in some way or another. He was always so curious and enthusiastic about everything happening in the sector, and somehow managed to keep track of everything and everyone.
I could never fathom where he got all his energy from, facilitating week-long sessions with the same passion, warmth, and high energy year after year. I was fortunate to work alongside him for four years and to witness him in action, doing what he did best — bringing people together, mentoring generously, and inspiring so many of us in the process.
For me personally, Kamal da played such an important role in shaping my journey in international development. He took me under his wing very early on, encouraged me, challenged me, and opened doors for me with so much generosity and faith. So much of who I became professionally was influenced by his mentorship.
Beyond the work, he was full of life, always laughing, joking, deeply interested in people and places, and able to connect effortlessly across cultures and continents. He carried such warmth and humanity wherever he went.
His legacy will live on in all the CLTS champions he mentored and inspired over the years. Rest in peace and power Kamal da.
John Gaventa, Professorial Fellow
I first met Kamal, his wife and son over 30 years ago when I was a visiting fellow at IDS staying in the then IDS accommodations, and they were also there, staying in an apartment upstairs. Like others, I experienced their warmth, hospitality, and Swati’s amazing cooking! In addition to Robert Chambers, Kamal was one of the first pioneers in what was then PRA (participatory rural appraisal) whom I met.
Later, when I joined IDS in 1996, he was a key partner in our then Participation Team and was a valuable contributor in many of the workshops and events over the years, sharing his wisdom, innovations, reflections and critiques on participatory methods and contributing enormously to their global spread.
Over the years, while our work took us separate ways, whenever he was at IDS, he would say hello, and we would recall fondly our first meeting.
I feel privileged to have known Kamal and to have learned from him. He made enormous contributions in the field of participation and participatory research methods, in addition to his work on CLTS.
Robert Chambers, Research Associate
Kamal and I were colleagues and collaborators for many years in PRA and CLTS. Over time we became good friends and this continued after my retirement. Kamal and Swati and their son Zubin and family visited us whenever they came to this country when we would go around some of the sights of Sussex and enjoy fantastic Indian meals cooked by Swati and Zubin.
First and foremost I remember Kamal as a great enthusiast. He was interested in everything especially the diversity of nature, plants and animals. He was fascinated by domestic farm animals and crops. I remember a visit we did to the gardens at Monks House in Rodmell when he gave us a discourse on the fabulous variety of flowers and other plants there. Another time we took him to Wakehurst and lost him for ages in the Seed Bank. We have never had any other visitor who showed such intense interest in this collection of seeds.
Kamal’s enthusiasm was infectious, you couldn’t help picking it up when you were with him and he made me notice things and details I hadn’t before.
He was a charismatic personality, influenced many people and inspired great affection.
Perhaps a lesser-known aspect of his personality was his talent as an artist. He did some very evocative and beautiful paintings of mountain villages in the Himalayas. His artistic ability was inherited by his son Zubin. His appreciation of things wasn’t just from a scientific point of view but also a sense of beauty.
Some of you may remember a seminar Kamal did on CLTS at IDS where he started by producing a lump of shit (hopefully fake). His sense of humour was never far away. Dear Kamal, thank you for being such an inspiring part of our lives. We will miss you very much.