ISSUES & CONCERNS
EcoSan toilets bring dignity to life of villagers
“After my retirement from the Indian Army, I returned to my village to lead a serene life. I was shocked when hit by the reality that there are no toilets in my village,” says Venu, who had worked in the Army Medical Corps. “It was difficult for me to accept the practice of open defecation.”
Venu immediately got in touch with the block office and constructed a conventional leach pit toilet in his house. But he soon ran into problems. Due to the high ground water level, the leach pit got filled up, making it difficult for him and his family to use the toilet. “The situation was worse during the rainy season. I even considered relocating to Krishnagiri,” recalls Venu. “However, things changed after the introduction of EcoSan toilet models by UNICEF in my village,” he says happily.
The Ecological Sanitation (EcoSan) toilet model was introduced by UNICEF in Krishnagiri in 2009. The three basic aspects are (a) separation of faeces, urine and wash water; (b) immediate channeling of urine and wash water to enrich surrounding soil; and (c) conversion of faeces to compost through dry, sealed storage. The squatting type of toilet, traditionally used in most developing countries, has been adapted to suit EcoSan needs.
The EcoSan toilet is divided into two parts. The lower part is a large chamber, partitioned by a dividing wall into two compartments, each sealed in the rear by a stone slab that can be opened when necessary. On the floor above are two toilets, one above each of the compartments. Each has a round hole in the floor for defecation and two footrests for squatting. The floor to the front of the user slopes away so that urine flows into a channel that leads to a separate pipe. Wash water too is led away separately. This helps keep the collection compartment dry. Ash is scattered on the faeces after each use.
Only one of the two toilets is used while the other is covered. When the first compartment is filled, the hole is sealed with a lid and the other is used. The lower compartment size is designed to allow continuous use for nine months or more. During this period, the faecal material collected in the sealed compartment becomes clean and odourless compost.
The urine is collected separately and utilized for farming. The wash water is used by draining it for kitchen gardening. The compost collected in the sealed compartment is high quality manure. As all the wastes are utilized, the EcoSan toilets qualify as zero-waste technology. For areas having a high water table or rocky terrain which makes it difficult for a conventional leach pit toilet to function, this technology works best. As the amount of water required is minimal, the technology is also feasible for areas with poor access to water supply.
“Though this technology was different from the traditional model, ours was the only household in our village to adopt it initially. We felt something was better than nothing,” says Venu’s wife Madhammal. “My daughters and I finally have our privacy.”
Apart from privacy, EcoSan technology provides opportunity to improve harvests. Venu and his family started using the compost and the urine in their jasmine and rose farms. The good yield from jasmine farming on less than an acre of land ensures Venu an average income of Rs 25000 per month. “The last harvest in the jasmine field was bountiful. I earned over Rs 300000 last year. I look forward to the same result in the paddy field too,” says Venu.
Venu’s success has now propelled 30 of the 50 households in the village to go in for EcoSan toilets. They too have started using compost in their field. One of the villagers, Ramasamy, says he would use the compost in his half-acre farm this year. “After learning from Venu and other farmers, I used the compost from EcoSan and found it works wonders,” he says. He built the green toilet in 2011 and finds it useful for his family.
The other villages in Thimmapuram Panchayat did take note of the EcoSan toilets and its benefits, but resisted the idea of having one in their homes until they were pushed by their children. After the EcoSan toilet was built in the Thimmapuram Government High School (TGHS) in 2009, students used it and urged their parents to build the same facility at their homes.
Take the case of Sushmitha and Gowthamapriya, students of Class 10, who influenced their parents to install the EcoSan toilet last year. “First, our parents hesitated. They preferred to go out for defecation. But when I insisted that we want a toilet, they approached our school and learnt about the scheme. Now, we are proud to have an EcoSan toilet at home,” says Sushmitha, age 14.
Gowthamapriya’s persistent request forced her father to take help from Venu and district officials to construct the toilet at his home, too. Both Sushmitha and Gowthamapriya now feel dignified because of EcoSan.
TGHS teacher A. Jayanthi explains that an awareness programme was organized among the students. “We were overwhelmed by the response from children because they did not have toilets at home. Then they pressed their parents to build toilets and achieved their goal,” she says. She adds that now 120 students out of 210 have EcoSan toilets in their homes.
SUGATA ROY, Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu)
Contrary to the common perception of most Indian farmers T. Venu finds a high water table a bane for the community in his village. For, he has experienced difficulties in having a conventional leach pit toilet in his village, which has a high level of ground water. Because of this, Ponagavananthanagar Village under the Thimapuram Panchayat in Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu, did not have household toilets till 2008, and open defecation was a way of life for the community.“After my retirement from the Indian Army, I returned to my village to lead a serene life. I was shocked when hit by the reality that there are no toilets in my village,” says Venu, who had worked in the Army Medical Corps. “It was difficult for me to accept the practice of open defecation.”
Venu immediately got in touch with the block office and constructed a conventional leach pit toilet in his house. But he soon ran into problems. Due to the high ground water level, the leach pit got filled up, making it difficult for him and his family to use the toilet. “The situation was worse during the rainy season. I even considered relocating to Krishnagiri,” recalls Venu. “However, things changed after the introduction of EcoSan toilet models by UNICEF in my village,” he says happily.
The Ecological Sanitation (EcoSan) toilet model was introduced by UNICEF in Krishnagiri in 2009. The three basic aspects are (a) separation of faeces, urine and wash water; (b) immediate channeling of urine and wash water to enrich surrounding soil; and (c) conversion of faeces to compost through dry, sealed storage. The squatting type of toilet, traditionally used in most developing countries, has been adapted to suit EcoSan needs.
The EcoSan toilet is divided into two parts. The lower part is a large chamber, partitioned by a dividing wall into two compartments, each sealed in the rear by a stone slab that can be opened when necessary. On the floor above are two toilets, one above each of the compartments. Each has a round hole in the floor for defecation and two footrests for squatting. The floor to the front of the user slopes away so that urine flows into a channel that leads to a separate pipe. Wash water too is led away separately. This helps keep the collection compartment dry. Ash is scattered on the faeces after each use.
Only one of the two toilets is used while the other is covered. When the first compartment is filled, the hole is sealed with a lid and the other is used. The lower compartment size is designed to allow continuous use for nine months or more. During this period, the faecal material collected in the sealed compartment becomes clean and odourless compost.
The urine is collected separately and utilized for farming. The wash water is used by draining it for kitchen gardening. The compost collected in the sealed compartment is high quality manure. As all the wastes are utilized, the EcoSan toilets qualify as zero-waste technology. For areas having a high water table or rocky terrain which makes it difficult for a conventional leach pit toilet to function, this technology works best. As the amount of water required is minimal, the technology is also feasible for areas with poor access to water supply.
“Though this technology was different from the traditional model, ours was the only household in our village to adopt it initially. We felt something was better than nothing,” says Venu’s wife Madhammal. “My daughters and I finally have our privacy.”
Apart from privacy, EcoSan technology provides opportunity to improve harvests. Venu and his family started using the compost and the urine in their jasmine and rose farms. The good yield from jasmine farming on less than an acre of land ensures Venu an average income of Rs 25000 per month. “The last harvest in the jasmine field was bountiful. I earned over Rs 300000 last year. I look forward to the same result in the paddy field too,” says Venu.
Venu’s success has now propelled 30 of the 50 households in the village to go in for EcoSan toilets. They too have started using compost in their field. One of the villagers, Ramasamy, says he would use the compost in his half-acre farm this year. “After learning from Venu and other farmers, I used the compost from EcoSan and found it works wonders,” he says. He built the green toilet in 2011 and finds it useful for his family.
The other villages in Thimmapuram Panchayat did take note of the EcoSan toilets and its benefits, but resisted the idea of having one in their homes until they were pushed by their children. After the EcoSan toilet was built in the Thimmapuram Government High School (TGHS) in 2009, students used it and urged their parents to build the same facility at their homes.
Take the case of Sushmitha and Gowthamapriya, students of Class 10, who influenced their parents to install the EcoSan toilet last year. “First, our parents hesitated. They preferred to go out for defecation. But when I insisted that we want a toilet, they approached our school and learnt about the scheme. Now, we are proud to have an EcoSan toilet at home,” says Sushmitha, age 14.
Gowthamapriya’s persistent request forced her father to take help from Venu and district officials to construct the toilet at his home, too. Both Sushmitha and Gowthamapriya now feel dignified because of EcoSan.
TGHS teacher A. Jayanthi explains that an awareness programme was organized among the students. “We were overwhelmed by the response from children because they did not have toilets at home. Then they pressed their parents to build toilets and achieved their goal,” she says. She adds that now 120 students out of 210 have EcoSan toilets in their homes.
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