In order to better understand what are the difficulties that people have in guaranteeing water at home, we chose to interview four residents and a leadership in nine communities located in the municipality of São Paulo. These locations were chosen based on the analysis of the responses that indicated lack of water, received in the questionnaire of the first stage. The interviewed communities work at UMM, CMP, FLM, and many of them are assisted by the Gaspar Garcia Center, PUC Model Office, Peabiru, among others. In addition, these communities are located in the nine regions of organization of the Union of Movements of Housing – UMM / SP, as shown in the map opposite.

The participants of the interviewed were mostly black women of different ages, income, type of work and family arrangement. In these interviews, which took place in the communities with all the necessary care to ensure the health of the interviewees and interviewers, we asked questions about the type of infrastructure present in the community and in the homes, about the existence of water supply and sewage collection and treatment, the strategies used to guarantee water in day-to-day activities, the frequency of lack of water, the cost and impact of the tariff or the purchase of bottled water on family income.

The information on gender and skin color was self-declaratory. The reports are true, but the names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees.