A Review of Ecosan Experience in Eastern and Southern Africa

The Water and Sanitation Program January 2005 is an international partnership for improving water and sanitation sector policies, practices, and capacities to serve poor people Field Note Sanitation and Hygiene Series A Review of EcoSan Experience in Eastern and Southern Africa Many governments and agencies in Africa are exploring the role of ecological sanitation, or EcoSan, within their environmental sanitation and hygiene improvement programs. Despite convincing environmental and economic reasons to support this approach, acceptance of the technology has been very limited so far. This field note reviews experience in Eastern Africa and, with less detail, Southern Africa. Introduction The scale of the sanitation crisis in Africa is enormous: 43 percent of the population of Sub Saharan Africa – over 303 million people – had no access to basic sanitation in the year 2000.1 Between 1990 and 2000, the number of people gaining access to improved sanitation failed to keep pace with population growth. The combination of poor progress, population growth, extremely weak economies and sometimes civil strife mean that the MDG targets facing Africa, seem almost insurmountable. This clearly means that ‘business as usual’ is not an option. Many governments and agencies in Africa are exploring the role of ecological sanitation, or EcoSan, within their environmental sanitation and hygiene improvement programs. Despite convincing environmental and economic reasons to support this approach, acceptance of the technology has been very limited so far. This field note reviews experience in Eastern Africa and, with less detail, Southern Africa. The aim is: • to identify as many successful EcoSan projects and programs as possible and to learn from these experiences; and, • to understand why take-up of EcoSan has been so limited, and to use this information to improve future sanitation programs. In its broadest sense, EcoSan ranges from simply planting a tree on a disused A urine-diversion toilet near Mombasa, Kenya. The urine is collected in the plastic container. toilet pit, through to composting human 1 Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, 2004. excreta and re-using the products in 2 ‘Closing the Loop’ refers to the vision of using human excreta (processed in some way) as a fertilizer of agriculture, thereby ‘closing the loop’.2 crops which provide nutrition for humans. 2 A Review of EcoSan Experience in Eastern and Southern Africa The work of the WSP affirms that consultation or choice they are unlikely EcoSan Experience there is a role for a variety of EcoSan to be sustainable. technologies in sanitation improvement in Eastern Africa programs, but this role will vary Correct usage: Some sanitation according to geography, economy, technologies (and especially EcoSan Kenya culture, etc. However, the first priority technologies) are more complicated, continues to be the need to achieve or demanding of the user, than others. EcoSan technology was introduced in health benefits through hygienic Incorrect usage can cause anything Kenya in the late nineties and there are behavior and improved sanitation from a minor inconvenience to a major now about six projects in the country. facilities; environmental and nutritional system failure and/or health hazard. A study commissioned by WSP-AF in benefits can and should follow. This field 2002 found that less than 100 EcoSan note reviews what has been achieved Spontaneous copying: Success toilets had been constructed (a figure to date and identifies some lessons for is demonstrable when there is an that has now marginally increased). future projects. increased demand for a ‘product’, or Most construction costs were when the ‘product’ is replicated without subsidized by NGOs who introduced Measures of Acceptance subsidies or specialist inputs. This level three types of EcoSan toilets. (See Box 1) of acceptance is essential if a new technology is to become widespread in Most households surveyed were not The most important factor in assessing a community. aware of EcoSan technologies and the potential for increased use of any the opportunities offered by excreta sanitation technology is the degree Use in agriculture: EcoSan re-use, especially in soil conditioning of acceptance in a community, as technologies in Africa have not been for improved food production. However, measured by willingness to adopt or widely embraced for improving 70 percent of respondents plant invest in that technology. This field note agriculture. But some local successes foodstuffs - such as bananas - for home explores that concept and examines have made a significant difference to consumption on filled-up pits, and 39 issues that help or hinder acceptance of the promotion of EcoSan and represent percent said they were willing to use EcoSan technology. Four measures of another level of acceptance. excreta as manure in their farms. All acceptance are proposed: • Are the toilets still in use? Box 1: Types of EcoSan Toilets in Kenya • Are they being correctly used? • Are they being copied without Skyloo: a raised toilet with urine diversion and separate collection of urine and external support? faeces in a permanent structure that requires periodic (6-12 months) emptying of the • Are EcoSan products being used in receptacle and transportation to a composting site. agriculture? Arborloo: a portable superstructure with no urine diversion, covering a shallow pit Continued use: Many sanitation that fills in after approximately one year. The superstructure is then moved and a tree projects get substantial subsidies planted in the filled pit. to ‘kick-start’ a campaign and this Fossa Alterna: two permanent pits with a portable superstructure. When one pit is sometimes leads to participation even full the superstructure is moved to the other. The digested contents of the first pit can when people are not fully convinced be safely emptied after a year. of the merits of the technology. Active participation can wane with Fossa Alterna and Arborloos work best when quantities of soil, wood ash and leaves the realization of the technology’s are added periodically to produce a balanced compost. Skyloos require some ash to requirements. When inappropriate dry the faeces and increase pathogen destruction facilities are installed without 3 groups admitted to a lack of knowledge constructed are still in use. Recent the Arborloo is considered affordable on excreta re-use but 20 out of 50 reports indicate renewed interest in this and easy to replicate: it is constructed focus groups acknowledged they had technology, especially in areas with geo- using locally available materials, is eaten chickens fed on human waste. hydrological problems. easy to construct and move (even for Thirty nine percent of respondents said women), and does not need a deep they would be willing to re-use human The Fossa Alterna toilet has been well pit, which is helpful in rocky conditions. waste as manure and 27 percent were received in two pilot areas in Kisumu. At Fruit trees can be grown on abandoned happy to eat fish fed on human waste least 15 toilets are being used in schools pit sites. In addition, as Arborloo toilets nutrients. and public places such as fish landing are shallow, there is less likelihood of sites. A demonstration toilet constructed ground water contamination or collapse In Kisumu region, along Lake Victoria, in a primary school has attracted the during the rainy season. Skyloos were built as an alternative interest of parents who want to copy the technology to pit latrines, especially in design in their homesteads. While it appears that the simplest form locations where the water table is high of EcoSan, the Arborloo, has been and the community relies on shallow The Arborloo toilet has been accepted and replicated it is too early water wells for their water needs. But enthusiastically received in Makueni to tell whether the Fossa Alterna will the Skyloos were not popular in the District (a semi-arid region south east of be emptied and the contents used in pilot area, partly due to cultural issues Nairobi) and the initial 3 demonstration agriculture, or to what extent it will be associated with urine diversion and toilets have been replicated to 57 within copied. The Skyloos were chosen to handling of feces. Acceptance has a year. The health and agricultural deal with adverse local conditions but been slow and only 8 out of 15 toilets benefits are clear to the community, and the high degree of user involvement has discouraged users. Ethiopia Knowledge Attitudes Behavior and Practices studies by UNICEF (1997) and Water Aid (2003) indicate that contact with human faeces is generally unacceptable in Ethiopia. Even constructing 'a house for feces' is low on the domestic agenda, especially among men. Given this cultural resistance it is hardly surprising that less than 400 EcoSan toilets have been constructed. SUDEA (Society for Urban Development in East Africa) is the main promoter of EcoSan in Ethiopia. Since 1998 a number of pilot projects, responsible for over 300 toilets, have been undertaken in partnership with local NGOs in Addis Skyloos in Migosi near Kisumu, Kenya. Ababa, Jimma, Bahir Dar, Hamusit and 4 A Review of EcoSan Experience in Eastern and Southern Africa Harar. Representatives from the Ministry by incorrect use of the urine diversion of Agriculture and Rural Development system, and lack of space and time for recently attended an international urban agriculture. conference on EcoSan and, with donor funds, established four trial Fossa In one densely settled area several Alterna toilets in each of two regions. users preferred people other than themselves to take away the feces, and SUDEA promotes an integrated EcoSan many others had stopped using the system for household sanitation and toilet. Within one block of 100 houses home gardening in which urine is with urine-diversion toilets built for diverted and used as a fertilizer, and families relocated after a fire, 45 percent feces are collected and composted of households were not practicing urban with other organic household waste.

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