Ecological sanitation for the base of the pyramid - Various documents on results from research grant

Content - Summary

This library entry contains background documents for a grant that Elmer Sayre is leading and which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Further information and a discussion is available on the SuSanA discussion Forum, see link below.

Goals of the project:
- To address the sanitation needs of the “base of the pyramid” (this means adopt the design, the double-vault ecosan toilets are too expensive in the Philippines),
- Provide not only access to sanitation; prevent the spread of diseases, and contamination, but also to make available much-needed fertiliser especially for small-scale farmers.

Activities and results:
1) Dry toilet design and installation: The basic design was single-vault with a urine diversion bowl, which was custom-designed to be appropriate in most conditions. Today, four EcoSan models are now available:
- Coastal area, marshy areas, river settlements and flooding: raised posts and “hanging” ecosan
- Uplands: lightweight, mobile arborloo toilets for mountain areas
- Usage by persons with disabilities, toddlers, elderly people:
- Urban slums, emergencies and conflicts: single-vault ecosan toilets
- Urinals: EcoPees

2) High-grade human waste-mixed organic fertiliser production: Mixing lactic acid bacteria, indigenous microorganisms, charcoal, sawdust, rice hull, banana peel, faeces and urine and other organic materials in cement boxes and leave to mature 3 months. All the materials used for fertilizer production come from local sources such as farmer’s field. Also the needed microorganisms are derived from indigenous microorganisms found in the field. Moreover a rapid composting technique (3-4 weeks) using Trichoderma harziamum (a cellulose decomposer available at the Department of Agriculture) was tested. Also a anaerobic process was piloted using home-produced indigenous micro-organisms

3) Crop response to human-waste mixed fertiliser: Urine and urine faeces-mixed organic fertiliser were tested for rice, bananas, coconuts and mahogany. Urine fertilisation showed increasing harvest for eggplant, pechay, water spinach, and green mustard compared to a control and only slightly less then compared to the vegetables produced with synthetic fertiliser. Compared to a control, either urine or faeces-mixed alone enhanced the harvest for rice. When both together were applied, a similar growth then with commercial fertiliser was achieved. Banana showed an increased harvest with either urine and feces-mixed (the combination was not tested). Coconut did not show a significant difference to control. Mahogany growth was increased with urine, but not with faeces-mixed alone.

4) Secondary treatment of faeces to remove pathogens: The treatment of faeces with vermi-composting using African night crawlers (Eudrilus Eugenia) was tested. After 5 month, Ascaris ova were still present but after 6 months completely gone. Main challenges include: sources for earthworms; maintaining humidity; to feed regularly with organic matter and the problem of alkalinity due to the usage of ashes in the toilets.

5) Odour minimization: a homemade concoction of lactic acid bacteria and indigenous microorganism mixed to sawdust and charcoal was used as faeces cover. Chopped twigs or wood can be used instead of sawdust if not available.

6) Marketing the toilets: 3 micro-financing institutions were tested (WAND-Microfinance, Asset-based Community Development with Equity Foundation, Tuburan Para Libertad Foundation). It worked best when integrated into the loan component of clients but with separate more socialized agreements (i.e. longer paying period and less interest levied. Moreover, the “no toilet, no loan” policy does work. A promising marketing avenue is portable dry toilets during emergency which we tested during Typhoon Sendong. Aside from micro-financing, we successfully marketed our toilets via social networking and word-by-mouth.

Further authors:
Sayre, J. C. Z., Gensch, R., Miso, A., Itchon, G., Sayre, E.


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Documents available for download below:
1 - Low-cost sustainable sanitation solutions for Mindanao and the Philippines: A practical construction field guide (2010)
2 - With Our Own Hands – Experiences in Promoting Ecological Sanitation and Food Security in Mindanao (2010)
3 - Sanitation Solutions for Flooded Zones, The WAND Foundation Experience (2011)
4 - Sustainable farmer uses humanure, Article in Business Mirror (Aug. 2012)
5 - Ecosan-Based Tree Planting Guide: The WAND Foundation Experience (June 2013)

Bibliographic information

Sayre, E. (2013). Ecological sanitation for the base of the pyramid - Various documents on results from research grant. Water, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development Foundation, Incorporated, Philippines

Filter tags

Composting, vermicomposting (solid waste), composting toilets East Asia & Pacific English Faeces or faecal sludge Fundamental research and engineering Rural Urine Urine diversion dehydration toilets (UDDTs)

Further readings

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