Abstract
This paper describes a community enumeration and mapping programme in five low-income settlements in Dar es Salaam. The inhabitants documented their settlement and its problems in detail, especially for water and sanitation, with support from the UK charity Water Aid and PEVODE, a Tanzanian NGO. The paper describes the planning and implementation of the enumeration and mapping, the information gathered, and how it was used. It also describes the way in which the process helped establish links between these communities and government agencies, and stimulated local action to address some of the problems identified.