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.

“Understanding the Urban Poor's Vulnerabilities in Sanitation and Water Supply ", is an article written by Barbara Evans published in July 1-6, 2007 by of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development. This paper argues that one of the root causes of this exclusion has been the long-standing inability of utility and city managers and their advisers to plan and implement water and sanitation systems which respond to the reality of the lives of the urban poor.

To draw lessons from the experience of RSMs and PCs operating in various states, and to formulate sustainable and replicable designs for the future, UNICEF commissioned “TARU Leading Rural Sanitary Marts and Production Centres – An Evaluation. This paper presents the results of an evaluation study of Rural Sanitary Marts (RSMs) and Production Centres (PCs) in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in 1999. UNICEF had supported the RSM and PC initiative in these states since 1991. The key issue that was analysed by the study was the ability of RSMs and PCs to promote affordable toilets in rural areas in a financially sustainable manner.

“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.

The safe disposal of human waste (sanitation) by building and maintaining toilets and washing hands prevents the spread of germs and is necessary for good health. This Chapter 7 “Building Toilets”, has been taken from the resource book - A Community Guide to Environmental Health, published in 2008 by the Hesperian Foundation, is a manual that looks at the various aspects of sanitation and toilet building, including understanding sanitation needs of different groups (men, women, children, disabled), planning for toilets for rural areas, cities/towns and emergencies and looks at the various toilet options available and methods to set up each one of them.
Read the manual