Faith and Water Samantha Heath
February 2015
Contents About LSx The challenge Mechanisms Behaviours Messengers
About LSx Provides organisations and networks of individuals with the motivation, knowledge and connections they need to put sustainability into practice
Our vision: Of London as the most sustainable world city Our partners:
The Challenge
Household water use 5%
4%
7% 30% 8%
13%
21% 12%
Toilet Baths and Taps Showers Clothes washing Washing up Outdoor Other Drinking
Religion in London Sikh Buddhist Jewish 1% 2% 2%
Other religion 1%
Hindu 5%
Religion not stated 8%
Christian 48%
Muslim 12%
No religion 21%
2011 Census
Faith as a “hook”
Environmentally themed sermons, events and radio broadcasts Reaching 6000 Muslims in East London
Power of faith “Its quite clever for them to make the link between our religion and saving water. It makes sense to Hindus because respecting nature is our ‘dharma’ or duty and so we can vibe with their message easily’
Questioning our Comforts
Children Travelling to school: after Elisabeth Shove • One third of school children travel to school,
Facilitator: Samantha Heath
• Over 1m trips are made at around 3.00 pm on weekdays; Systems within systems Whirlpools Healthy food is clean
When I’m in a rush in the kitchen I don’t have time to turn the tap off
I need to keep my family clean
M ytap is dripping and I can’t afford to fix it There are no other good options
Having a bath is me time
I feel better when I’m clean
We need to be clean before God Can we break
Ratchet In competing priorities People will put getting clean before time
This is too big an issue for me to handle, I don’t have the skills to sort it. Create small solutions.
( Addressing the) Pin wheels
This illusion of ‘choice’ Create social marketing through church and mosque elders Water is every where it muct be cheap
Support specific behaviour programmes for each community Marketing tag lines;
We need to replace this idea where water is free.
Create a social marketing campaign – for spiritual cleansing
Quality time in training to fix taps
Who we worked with Anglican (Southwark) Pentecostal (Merton) Bengali Muslim (Tower Hamlets) Nigerian Muslim (Southwark) Jewish (Barnet) Hindu (Hounslow) Sikh ( Hounslow)
Behaviour change – Mechanisms
Behaviour change: then Awareness
Raising awareness, generating interest and desire to take‌
Action
“It’s really good to learn things that you can put to good use and improve yourself”
“In the kitchen I know I am bad because I wash everything twice... the dal, the rice. I know that it is a waste of water and that is where I should reduce”
“It’s important to teach “My mother makes me wash our children a skill so that the rice 4, 5, 6 times until the they can get a job” water runs clear”
Behaviour change – Behaviours
Thinking Fast and Thinking slow
Consumer Engagement
Habits Adopt more water efficient behaviours in the home in a way that reduces energy consumption
Decision Making Make choices to increase the water efficiency of the home
Leaving taps running for teeth/ hand washing
Having a shower rather than a bath
Washing rice, meat and vegetables
Choosing a water efficient tap, dish washer or shower
Leaving taps running for spiritual cleansing
Upgrade the home with water saving technology
Defra Framework – willingness and ability to act
Potential willingness to adopt and impact Willingness to change
Only grey water used for gardening
Wash vegetables in a bowl instead of under running water
Use Wudu cups whilst performing ablution
Wash up using a bowl instead of under flowing water
Ability to change Children turn off taps after brushing teeth and washing hands
Use shower gun for washing hair instead of continuous flow
Reduce shower duration to 4 minutes
Who can influence?
Disengagement
Christakis
Dunbar……
Older generations: “They are the ones that are likely to listen to the imam and listen to what he’s got to say about it. And listen to the hadiths and listen to what Islam says about conserving water�
Bengali Muslim Female messenger
• The Jagonari Centre in East London or a similar organization that can disseminate information in Bengali about water saving • Older women and female staff in the ablution room who can provide practical demonstrations of Wudu cups. • Leaders within younger female groups at the mosque, who can conduct informative talks to outline better bathing and showering habits in large families • Online video campaigns, social media buzz to articulate the benefits of a quick shower for hair and skin • Engaging campaign slogan about shower timers and water saving shower head
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Responding to the Challenge
Behavioural goals
Targeted behaviour
Ablution Ablution or wudu consists of washing hands, mouth, nose, face, forearms (up to the elbow), head, ears and the feet, and can be repeated several times before the five daily prayers. Leaving the taps running while performing wudu Depending on facet and aperture, wudu can use up to 15 litres of water. “Ablutions are a big one because you can’t really gauge how much water you use, some people use so much water”
Desired Behaviour Explicit expression of what change will occur
Religious / Ritual water use
The target group will use minimal water (as little as 1 litre) to perform wudu in preparation for their daily prayers. Wudu cups can be used to ‘measure’ the necessary amount of water. Turn taps off when performing wudu.
Wudu is performed by any practicing Muslim in preparation for prayer five times daily, at home, work or at a Mosque. Ablution, and therefore water use increases during periods of religious observance such as Ramadan. Mosques contain ablution facilities for men and women comprising of rows taps and seats.
Motivation Values, interests and aspirations and drivers
নবী মুহাম্মদ জল মাত্র 16 মুঠ া সঠে wudu সঞ্চাললতনবী মুহাম্মদ জল মাত্র 16 মুঠ া সঠে wudu সঞ্চাললতMore Nabī muhām'mada jala mātra 16 muṭhō saṅgē wudu sañcālita
Of Wudu, the Prophet Muhammad said one must conserve water “even if you are by the side of a flowing river.” The Prophet Muhammad performed wudu with just 16 handfuls of water. Financial reasons would be a motivation for the mosques to change their infrastructure and/or the habits of their congregation The mosques reason for water or money saving would trickle to the congregation “The Prophet actually teaches that even if you are doing ablution on a running stream you shouldn’t use more than what is necessary. I think a lot of people either don’t know or they think it is something small”
Messenger
The Imams serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. As such they are highly respected and influential within the Islamic tradition. A message from the imam would be taken very seriously especially by the older generations Women and Men should be recruited as champions in order to support worshippers as they perform their Wudu. Posters using religious quotes, terminology and imagery should be placed in the ablution facilities and are considered influential and important reminders. Working with influential religious networks and Islamic societies of universities such as LSE, UCL, KCL is key to gaining collaboration and contacts Organisations such as MADE can champion the campaign as they are perceived to be more trustworthy than government organisations. [Regarding older generations]: “They are the ones that are likely to listen to the imam and listen to what he’s got to say about it. And listen to the hadiths and listen to what Islam says about conserving water”
Message নবী মুহাম্মদ জল মাত্র 16 মুঠ া সঠে wudu সঞ্চাললতনবী মুহাম্মদ জল মাত্র 16 মুঠ া সঠে wudu সঞ্চাললতMore Nabī muhām'mada jala mātra 16 muṭhō saṅgē wudu sañcālita
A reminder of the spiritual significance of water from the Mosque for ablution. Save water in the Mosque and at home Education on why water saving is important locally Displayed in both Bengali and English for the older and younger generations ‘Saving water saves money’ – message can be used to involve mosque authorities as a mosque is essentially a charity with limited resources “If the Mosque would design something I would more inclined to do it”
Engage
Behavioural change
Enable
Encourage
Exemplify
Engage practitioners in informative talks, workshops and practical demonstrations of Wudu. Posters (in English and Bengali) can be placed in the ablution facilities to serve as a reminder and help reinforce behaviour. Grab attention through videos showing how different cultures practice wudu with smaller amounts of water Promote infographics on Facebook, create Twitter page and also develop a website to engage younger audiences Give out Wudu cups that measure the amount of water to use when performing Wudu for both personal and mosque use. Give recommendations (talks, leaflets, posters) on how to perform Wudu conservatively and efficiently Fit regulator taps in ablution facilities of the Mosque Link water conservation with saving costs (to engage the custodians of the mosque as it’s essentially a charity with limited resources) Encourage congregation through inspirational speakers and involvement of Muslim organisations. Messages in Bengali will help to reinforce the message given by the Imam especially for older generations Videos involving prominent Muslim figures Infographics and branding the campaign with catchy phrases
Lead by example, elders, staff and champions can set benchmark for ablution in the ablution room (it is important to have male and female champions on board).
Finding out more‌
T: 020 7234 9400 E: Samantha.Heath@ LSx.org.uk W: www.lsx.org.uk