From sensory to evidence-based water safety: a participatory Moringa oleifera intervention in a rural Mexican community

Rural adoption of plant-based coagulants faces socio-cultural barriers unaddressed by conventional engineering approaches. This study developed and evaluated a participatory framework integrating community co-creation with decentralized household water treatment using Moringa oleifera seed husk coagulant (MO-PC) in a rural community in Guerrero, Mexico. A concurrent mixed-methods participatory action research spanned four phases: baseline focus group discussions (n = 58 of 67 women recruited), co-creation workshops, a community field trial (n = 58 paired water samples), and post-intervention surveys (n = 80), assessed against NOM-127-SSA1-2021 standards. MO-PC achieved 91% turbidity reduction (61.0 to 5.4 NTU) and reduced E. coli and total coliforms detection from 75% and 96% to 0% (McNemarś exact test, p < 0.001); a representative untreated sample gave 6,150 ± 495 CFU/100 mL, versus non-detectable post-treatment. Social acceptance reached 85%, with 90% expressing continued-use intentions and 93% rating the method as easy to apply. The Essential Perceptions framework revealed a shift from sensory- to evidence-based assessment, fostering womenś agency, collective efficacy, and local knowledge appropriation. Findings offer a replicable model for SDG 6–aligned household water interventions in resource-limited settings. This study presents the first participatory co-creation framework utilizing Moringa seed husk coagulant in rural Mexico.