Toilets and Urinals

 Biome Solutions, a Bangalore-based company working on sustainable architecture and buildings visited some flood affected areas in Guntur to observe the situation and see the suitability of applying "Ecological Sanitation", a new approach to sanitation. (Search on India Water Portal for "Ecological sanitation" for more information on this). Their report  after their travels can be seen below.

A point of interest is the picture of a flooded toilet. Pit toilets which are the norm in rural areas have the disadvantage that during floods the pit below the toilet (where the human waste accumulates over time) gets flooded and the toilet becomes unusable. The faecal matter can come out of the toilet pan and create a real mess which needs to be cleaned up. 

Read their report at: 

http://biomesolutions.blogspot.com/2009/10/visit-to-flood-affected-areas-in-guntur.html

Jevan Dhara Foundation
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We will like to work in India, with the express purpose of helping install toilet facilities in schools, which lack such facilities at the present time.
 

TSC and Ecosan's initiative to bring about sustainable sanitation in India based on technologically advanced and eco friendly approaches towards sanitation, involving NGO, Community and Individual participation. Read more

The survey was done using a closed-ended questionnaire which was administered to key stakeholders including teachers, school children and sometimes the SDMC (School Development and Management Committee) members. All government and aided schools were included in the survey. 

Some of the main findings of the status report on water resources in Tikamgarh and Jhansi districts by Development Alternatives are –

The Water Portal had previously covered ASHWAS, an ambitious water and sanitation survey in Karnataka conducted by Arghyam and partner organisations.

"Innovations in Microfinance" Series

A debate on Private Sector approaches to Water Management for the poor provides a unique opportunity to learn about private sectro microfinance approaches to water management that have been used for a range of purposes from purchasing household water connections and clean water storage units, like rainwater harvesting tanks to the construction of household latrines.

The debate sponsored by the Citi Foundation & Arc Finance is to be held at the New York Asia Society and Museum. The event can also be accessed via a free live video webcast. More details below the fold.

Approximately 1.1 billion people lack clean water supplies and 2.7 billion have no access to proper sanitation. To combat conditions that lead to sickness and disease, low income families across Asia are asking for clean water and improved sanitation to keep their families healthy and productive. Sophisticated modern piped water networks are too expensive for most developing countries and poor people living in the slums often pay 5 to 10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city. Sensing a business opportunity, microfinance organizations are beginning to explore the market for making water more accessible to the poor.

This presentation provides an introduction to the book by the Centre for Science and Environment(CSE) titled Sewage Canal: How to Clean the Yamuna”. As per the presentation, several crore rupees have been sunk into plans to clean up the Yamuna.

Image and Content Courtesy: DryToilet.org

The 3rd International Dry Toilet Conference- 2009- 2^nd announcement: The conference will be held from12^th to 15^th of August 2009 in Tampere University of Technology, Finland . The Conference is organised by The Global Dry Toilet Association of Finland, in cooperation with Tampere University of Technology, TAMK University of Applied Sciences and University of Tampere.

The main theme of the DT 2009 conference will be the evaluation of the achievements in sanitation after the International Year of Sanitation in light of the Millennium Development Goals.

Main topics of the Conference: 1. Health and safety 2. Technical development of dry toilets 3. Prospects and challenges in the reuse of excreta 4. Social, cultural, economic and gender aspects related to dry sanitation All experts are invited to submit their abstracts on any of the above mentioned topics or closely related ones.