Role of dry toilets in integrated rabbit production biosystem
Location
Users of dry toilets find value in using toilet waste residues and benefitting financially by integrating sanitation with income generation via the rabbit production biosystem.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Field of Work
Sanitation
Year the initative began (yyyy)
2008
YouTube Upload
Web site (url)
Positioning of your initiative on the mosaic diagram:
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Public information alone doesn’t change behaviors
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Value-added services mean added business income
If you believe some other barrier or principle should be included in the mosaic, please describe it and how it would affect the positioning of your initiative in the mosaic
This field has not been completed
Name Your Project
Role of dry toilets in integrated rabbit production biosystem
Describe Your Idea
Users of dry toilets find value in using toilet waste residues and benefitting financially by integrating sanitation with income generation via the rabbit production biosystem.
Innovation
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
Users of dry toilets find value in using toilet waste residues and benefitting financially by integrating sanitation with income generation via the rabbit production biosystem.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field?
Wastes from dry toilet container are layered with soil after each toilet visit and when filled, they are emptied into a shallow pit with rabbit droppings, a tree is placed on it and the roots covered with soil. Project targets at users in an organization with a compound or with a neighbourhood that has space for planting trees. Trees give fruits, firewood, foliage and shade. This project further integrates use of dry toilet with the rabbit-sweet potato production system where trees to provide shade that rabbits need and to produce fruits as additional income and/or high-protein foliage. When space becomes limitted, rabbit droppings and feed residues are composted with dry toilet wastes and matured compost (after 1 or 2 years) can be used to improve soil conditions and growing sweet potato leaves (~25.5-29.8% protein in dry matter).
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
Funding for training course and establishment of 2 integrated rabbit production units in Nairobi is already available. Dry toilets will be used at these sites. Dry toilets will smell much less and will be favoured by children. Smaller children already use bucket toilets at Children's Garden (Nairobi) since they are afraid to use the pit latrines (fear for falling into the pit). The challenge now is to integrated dry toilets with rabbit production.
How do you plan to expand your innovation?
Training course (Aug 2008) will introduce dry toilets to 6 organizations in Kenya and 2 of them will receive funds to start two small rabbit farms (5-10 kg of meat per week). 6 more units (pending funding from submitted applications) will be established in 2008 in Kenya and Uganda. In 2009 (pending funding - application to be submitted) another 5 more units will be established in Uganda and Tanzania. All these 13 units of rabbit growers will be supported via its e-network, e-learning materials and e-forum. All rabbit farms will have dry toilets and to serve as models for rabbit meat production in East Africa.
Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them?
There are several potential partners/organizations that want to join the rabbit e-network. Some already keep a few rabbits but often produce meat only for domestic consumption with no surplus to sell. Trainees must be connected to organizations which provide the demo and training site (micro-loan provided) to trainees to prove themselves over 2 years. With income made, these trainees can then start their own with the savings and another micro-loan. Partner organization must have access to land or a source of grass/foliage.
Impact
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact.
Project is environmentally sound at achieves zero waste with recycling of all materials. Vulnerable children and youths will benefit from skills training and income.
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact?
Only minor barriers, e.g. access to land for sweet potato leave production; funds to build more dry toilets and buy bins for storage dry soil esp. for use during the rain season.
How many people have you served or plan to serve?
Partners already have rabbits (serving 50 children). Integration Project of 2008 will serve 250 children. 2009 aims at 1000 (pending funding and continuation of 2008 project).
Directly
Each dry toilet can serve 20 visits (children) before it is filled. 4 toilets generate enough materials to plant a tree. Target is to plant a papaya tree every other day and papaya will be for the users of the dry toilets. So directly each partner in the project will involve 40 children.
Indirectly
Indirectly .....Many children. Most NGOs that care for orphans and vulnerable have at least 20 children. A manageable number for NGOs is around 50 children. e.g. the Girl Child Network in Kenya has 242 member organizations. Mnistry of Home Affairs in Kenya has about 32 rehabilitation centres where flush toilets are sometime not flushed because of the lack of water. Dry toilets is a solution rather than digging more boreholes to get water to flush toilets !!
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation?
This field has not been completed
Is there a policy intervention element to your innovation, if so please describe?
Sewage authorities still oppose local disposal of human excrete of "burying" it into the ground for "health" reasons. Yet they will approve or close an eye to constructions of pit latrines, flush toilets that accumulates all other wastes and chemicals for centralised wastewater treatment and/or discharges into water bodies and resources that cause pollution in most cases.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation?
everyone (and the enviroment) ?
but will you use a dry toilet or a flush toilet ?
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
Project (2008) has a training component on dry toilets and rabbit production and that is funded by ForumSyd/SIDA (Sweden) 61,000 US$. More funding applied for 2008 and 2009-2010.
Provide information on your finances and organization:
(a) Budget of project
2007: 36,000 US$ ; 2008/March 2009 = 61,000 US$ 2009-2010 = 184,000 US$(pending)
(b) Annual Revenue/(c)Source of Revenue: none (yet)
(c) Number of Staff: one (1)
Globetree Sweden:
(a) Annual (total) Budget
2005 budget: 443,000 US$ ;
2006 budget: 964,000 US$
(b) Annual Revenue: 2005: 67,000 US$ ; 2006: 96,000 US$
(c) Source of Revenue: Membership and donations
(d) Number of Staff: 2006: 14 (due to special activity); 2005: 6
Others (Network Volunteers/members): 2,500 persons
What is the potential demand for your innovation?
Anyone who dont have a flush toilet or wants to avoid a smelly pit latrine.
Must have access to soil and space for growing trees.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability?
Very cheap to construct a dry toilet which is basically a bucket with a seat over it and a storage bin for dry soil and extra toilet buckets with lids.
For people who really need toilets, they often are unable to invest in one because they are poor and the purchase of daily food has a higher prority than taking care of their "shit".
The Story
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story.
2001: Member of the Organizing committee for 1st Intl Conf on Ecological Sanitation. P.R. China
2001: coordinated Internet Dialogue in Ecosanitation
2005: constructed for my personal use a dry toilet at a remote farm in Cambodia
2008: received funding for an activity in a training course and will construct 6 simple dry toilets for children at Children's Garden Primary School, Nairobi
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material
Educated as a botanist, agricultural microbiologist and trained with a broad working experience on waste utilisation, water, eco-sanitation, environment and integrated biosystems for rural development and agro-industry. Specialises in project development and full cycle management/implementation. Currently employed as program officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
Fellow (since 1996), World Academy Of Arts and Science
Chairman (2004-2006), International Organization of Biotechnology and Bioengineering
General Secretary (2007-2008), International Organization of Biotechnology and Bioengineering
Member (Board of Directors) (since 2006), South East Asia Rural Development Fund
Vice-President (since 2005, inactive), African Foundation
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