Western Region UDDTs - successful and replicated

Report by Moses Wakala (June-September2010). During this Monitoring period, a number of UDDTs in households and schools have been visited. The results indicate positive uptake of this ecological sanitation technology amongst the households than in schools. Most homes are using the facility very well and there is great impact on environment as seen in the agricultural output and improved sanitation. From interviews contacted to a number of people in visited homes, UDDT is a better option of sanitation than the pit latrines. Many more people look at its durability and odorless condition as the main advantage over the conventional pits. Many homes have replicated by constructing a similar toilets in their homes copying from the neighbors. The greatest challenge was accessing the plastic squatting pan whose main supplier is Kentainer in Nairobi. I had to help some to get this pan from Supplier. However the cost is still an issue as many who are willing and ready with other basic material can’t afford them.



UDDTs in schools is still a challenge in most schools visited. Schools with better management are still doing well. In case of change of school administration, most projects stall and this has been realized in the school UDDTs. The greatest challenge in primary schools is constant blockage of the urine pipe. From findings, it was caused by lack of proper training of users or sometimes negligence. Some users misuse the toilet while others still drop the ash in the urine section instead of the feaces chamber. After this, some people are not willing to un-block the urine pipe it being a public toilet. This has led to abandonment of the entire facility.

However, there are also well managed schools that have been visited. With good training, most schools are opting to continue with similar construction of UDDTs. Some schools together with the Public Health officers and Water service Boards are requesting for technical support and training from the experts. These I have offered and results are very promising in many schools. This has made most of the Constituent Development Committee to develop interest in ecosan technology especially for CDF funded toilet projects in schools.

Many trainings have been conducted in different CBOs and schools on ecosan technology in the region. Some other funding agents like Japan International have also started funding ecosan toilets around Ugunja area in Ulanda Primary schools




Lydia Majimbo’s Toilet from Kulisinamu CBO in Bungoma County. This lady is happy with her toilet and she uses urine as fertilizer in her farm. Last season was the first time she tried this and the results were so encouraging.

Her main problem was digging a pit latrine on a rocky soil structure in Muanda are on top of hills adjacent to Sirisia town. She now has solved her problems with ecosan technology.

There are a total of 30 toilets in this region under the CBO which are working well. School toilets is still a challenge due to management issues.








School Toilet in Eldoret done by the community as they embrace ecosan technology in the region. This is the best ecosan toilet constructed by the school on their own after a training conducted by Ecosan expert. It was constructed in April-May and has been in use for three months now.

On the left is the boys urinals with urine collection. All the urine is stored in the urine shelves as it waits for reuse time on the school farm

Eldoret Education Complex (EEC) has adopted ecosan technology and is using the products on this farm and on trees. They also intent to start construction of a decentralized treatment system to treat the other wastes and produce biogas for cooking in the kitchen.

EEC Toilet has got two urine storage shelves besides the stairs like this in picture. Urine is collected in 20 liter jericans and when full, it is labeled with a sticker indicating when it was full and when it will be ready for use in the farm. The only challenge is knowing when a container is full. Therefore the attendant has to check regularly before it spills. This facility with four doors and urinal serves about 100 pupils and 30 staff members (Teaching and non-teaching)

Training of the communities in Bungoma county on a farmers’ field day. The theme of the field day was working towards food security in Kenya. The expert is trying to show how use of ecosan technology can improve food security.

Dr Elijah Korich officially commissions an ecosan toilet in Eldoret. This replication is
Increasing daily with people accepting the technology.

Kakichuma Primary School in Bungoma County is one of the success stories of ecosan promotion technology in the region. The school with the best management concept of the toilet. Two such toilets were constructed by the project in March 2009 and it has been in use for one year now. A few blockage problems have been reported and handled by management. One toilet is used by the staff and the other by boys. The girls are still waiting for the school to remember them in terms of sanitation.

Martha Alaka’s toilet in Bungoma county near Chwele. This is the urine collection and storage chamber. The toilet was constructed in May 2009 and has been in use for now one and half year. This is the best managed household toilet in the region. Urine is being used in the farm as fertilizer. Crops tested are trees, Onions, Nappier grass and vegetables which have all responded well with urine application. A population size of 12 people use the toilet.

Read more...

Ecosan video documentary kenya

This is a documentary of the work done by the Ecosan team in Kenya. I have felt that it could be good for public viewing and knowledge transfer. The project closed but the facilities are still being monitored by a team of two kenyan experts, Moses wakala and wycliffe Osumba.

Read more...

Pilot school-wash facility in Kawangware, Nairobi

Solid House Foundation Kenya in partnership with Ecotact Ltd. has finalised the Pilot School-WASH facility in Dagoretti Mixed Secondary School, Kawangware. The inaguration was plannedfor the 18th October with attendance of Hon. Beth Mugo, M.P. Minister of Public Health and Sanitation. The facility they have now opened consists of a toilet block with drinking water and hand washing basins, connected to a biodigester, soon providing biogas for the School Feeding Programme. The pilot School-WASH facility was build with funding by MFS (Dutch Government); implemented in partnership by Ecotact Ltd. and SHF Kenya in cooperation with Dagoretti CDF. Ecosan Kenya built the facility.

Contact:
Eelke van der Werf
Solid House Foundation Kenya
Programme Manager Kenya
kenya@solidhouse.org

Read more...

Kenya: school children attempt to break world handwashing record

School children at Thirime primary school, Kikuyu, Kenya on Global Handwashing Day. Photo: Thomas Mukoya-Reuters

Close to 20,000 school children and adults took part in a handwashing campaign in an attempt to establish a new Guinness World Record. They gathered at Thirime Primary School in Kikuyu on 15 October 2010 to mark Global Handwashing Day.

Education Permanent Secretary James Ole Kiyiapi announced that 19,352 people, including 18,302 children and 1,050 adults washed their hands during the event. If recognised, this would break the previous record for the most number of people washing hands at a single venue set by 15,150 students in Chennai, India, in 2009. Plan Bangladesh and partners claim to hold the record for the most number of people washing hands at multiple locations, when 52,970 school children gathered across the country in October 2009.

Prof. Kiyiapi announced that every school in Kenya should have a clean toilet for boys and another for girls.

“The Ministry will ensure this happens and they must be properly designed and clean. Out of the money we give to schools, we are going to tell the head teachers to get some of it that was going into instructional materials to construct proper toilets where there are none to improve hygiene,” he said.

Students from over 20 schools in Kikuyu and Dagoretti areas in Kenya took part in Global Handwashing Day events.

Related web site: Global Handwashing Day
Source: Catherine Karong’o, Capital News, 15 Oct 2010

Below is a report by Smriti Vidyarthi of NTV Kenya on the record breaking attempt at Thirime Primary School.

Filed under: Africa, Campaigns and Events, Hygiene Promotion Tagged: Global Handwashing Day, Guinness World Records, Kenya

This story is also available on the sanitation update website :

http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/kenya-school-children-attempt-to-break-world-handwashing-record/

Read more...

Ecosan Workshops in Ugunja and Nairobi

Dear ecosan fans, friends and colleagues!

We had two very fruitful and successful workshops in Nairobi and Ugunja . During the Ecosan Capacity Development Workshop in Ugunja (Monday 20th September to Friday 24th September) we had the chance to visit different pilot projects in Ugunja, Mumias and Nakuru.
For some of our participants it was the first time to see a working ecosan toilet. And many were surprised how much the farmers appreciate their ecosan toilets. One of the participants told me it was amazing how people use the ecosan products to improve their agricultural production.

Public toilet at the Ugunja market (DEWATS-System)

Double door Urine-Diversion Dehydration Toilet (UDDT) with attached shower in Mumias

During the following two days I enjoyed the interesting presentations, group works and especially the role plays on topics like Community Participation, CLTS, Social Marketing and Financing.

Participants during workshop in Ugunja

The exchange of information within the group was very enriching and educative as the participants came from different backgrounds and different countries. I realised how important knowledge and information exchange is as for many participants this workshop was like an eye opener and it helped them to understand ecosan and its benefits much better.

Group picture of participants Ecosan Capacity Building Workshop in Ugunja

The Ecosan Vision Workshop on 27th September in Nairobi was out of the ordinary with its “World Café” arrangements where participants were allowed to take notes on the paper covered table as you can see in the picture below.

Participants during the Ecosan VisionWorkshop in Nairobi

It was enjoyable to watch everybody busy writing on the tables and having discussions during group works. The output was very creative and I look forward for the final reports by our facilitator Johannes Heeb and Martin Wafler from Switzerland.

Group picture Ecosan Vision Workshop Nairobi

I am grateful to our presenters during the workshops who were willing to share their knowledge and experience. I further would like to thank all participants, the facilitators from India and Switzerland and last but not least GTZ-Ecosan in Germany for giving us the chance to link up with different people and exchange knowledge and ideas about ecosan in Kenya. It was a great experience to organise the two workshops and it was very motivating and inspiring for me.
Asante sana!

More pictures under: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/collections/72157616752316076/

Read more...