Megh Pyne Abhiyan (MPA) in partnership with SAMTA (partner organization in Khagaria district) is piloting the localized version of Phaydemand Shauchalay  aka productive toilet/ecological sanitation in two tolas (hamlets) (Nepal and Railway tola of Khagaria district) as an alternative and appropriate utility  for the flood prone areas of Bihar.

About the initiative
Megh Pyne Abhiyan in partnership with Water Action is executing a peoples’ centered, driven and owned alternative secure sanitation, personal and menstrual hygiene management process and facilities in Burmi Tola, a flood prone hamlet of Rupaulia village of West Champara district in Bihar. The initiative is being supported by Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden and Wash Institute, India.

When responding to an emergency situation, ensuring safe excreta disposal is an urgent priority in the disaster relief effort. Aid organizations typically dig trench or pit latrines, but in some challenging environments, different methods such as ecological sanitation (Ecosan) must be employed. Ecosan is sanitation methods and technologies which promote the safe reuse rather than the disposal of excreta. Currently, Ecosan is mostly implemented in disaster relief for flood-prone areas and locations where excavation is not possible.

Most of the cities in Nepal,  except  Kathmandu,  the sewerage system  and onsite sanitation system are very poor due to improper management, less attention, and lack of political commitment of Gevernments of Nepal. The planned and safe disposal of human excreta is a must for preventing drinking water from pollution and conserving soil fertility. The conventional linear approach to sanitation can cause both environmental and health problems.

From S. Janakarajan, Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) Chennai

Posted 5 June 2007

I work with the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) in Chennai.

In recent years, there is a growing emphasis on promoting Ecological Sanitation (ecosan) due to a number of factors:

1. Wider realisation that modern sewage-based sanitation uses up a tremendous amount of drinking water quality water for flushing, and requires large costly plants for treatment.
2. Mixing of faeces and urine makes treatment difficult, as both these need different treatments.
3. Wastage of urine and faeces, which could be a rich source of fertiliser. Proper management of these will reduce treatment as well as fertilizer costs.
   

“Experiences with Ecosan Systems to Provide Sustainable Sanitation for Schools in Kenya and India” written by Rahul Ingle, Christian Rieck and Elisabeth v. Münch published in 2009 by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and Ecosan Services Foundation (ESF), paper describes the experiences and lessons learnt from using ecosan systems in some schools in Kenya and India.

“Community Eco-Sanitation Toilets India” which have been developed and published in 2008 by the Wherever the Need (WTN) with support from the Industry’s Humanitarian Support Alliance (IHSAN), the case study seek to encourage self sustaining, ecological projects generated through the self empowerment of the people themselves.

The paper highlights various issues relating to sanitation solutions such as reasons for failure septic tanks systems and associated pollute ground water.  On the other hand, flush toilet system and the sewage system, which goes with modern day personal hygiene and cleanliness, are part of the environmental problem and not the solution. Consider the huge amount of clean water that is used to carry a small quantity of human excreta, S.Vishwanath and Chitra Vishwanath titled “Composting toilets – the future of sanitation?” writes that in such a scenario one emerging solution is a dry composting toilet.

“A glance at the ecosan initiatives” is a ppt photo-essay, is an India’s first Ecosan Ph.D. work of student from Agriculture University, Bangalore on implementation of Ecosan in villages supported by Arghyam.

“Ecological Sanitation: Alternate systems to save water and reuse resources” has been written Sumita Ganguly and P Amudha in India Infrastructure Report, published in 2007 by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The case study presents about the two NGOs, SCOPE and MYRADA supported by UNICEF have brought ecological sanitation as a concept among rural families in Tiruchirapalli and Erode districts in Tamil Nadu through a process of discussion with Gram Panchayats and families.