Water and Sustainable Sanitation in Peru and the rest of the World
AGUAECOSANPERU is a CENCA’s program created for the implementation in Peru of the ECODESS; it’s a sanitation alternative for a sustainable use of water and reuse of residues.
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)
1997
YouTube Upload
Web site (url)
Positioning of your initiative on the mosaic diagram:
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Limited focus on long-term impact
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Move people up the sanitation ladder
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
Water and Sustainable Sanitation in Peru and the rest of the World
Describe Your Idea
AGUAECOSANPERU is a CENCA’s program created for the implementation in Peru of the ECODESS; it’s a sanitation alternative for a sustainable use of water and reuse of residues.
Innovation
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
AGUAECOSANPERU is a CENCA’s program created for the implementation in Peru of the ECODESS; it’s a sanitation alternative for a sustainable use of water and reuse of residues.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field?
ECODESS is a sanitation management model focused on ecology. It has the following sub-systems:
- Domestic sub-system: it’s located inside the house and it includes a complete bathroom (with an eco-toilet, urinal, washbasin and shower), laundry and a collecting duct of grey water that it’s connected to a “catching grease chamber” and to a bio-filter for grey water treatment which produces water fit for irrigation. Under the eco-toilet, there are 2 containers where the excrement is stored with a drying material; then it’s delivered to an eco-station and turned into organic fertilizer or drying material for further commercialization.
- Local sub-system: it’s a second collecting duct that collects treated grey water from all lots and takes it to a centralized bio-filter. Then it goes into an underground irrigation duct for green areas maintenance. ECODESS contributes to the optimization of the water resource.
- Organizational system: There is a Community Management Committee in charge of the administration, maintenance and control of the system. It’s coordinated with the Green Areas Maintenance, Fertilizer and Drying Material Production Committee.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
I’m working in three levels:
? We develop pilot projects, we support and advise other organizations that get financing and want to develop the subject. We offer them our experience and learned lessons, we accompany during the process of implementation. Other organizations prefer we give them accessories.
? We are researching –with limitations– on sanitation residues quality to demonstrate that they don’t contaminate. In this way prejudice can be reduce. Likewise we design friendlier ecologic bathroom accessories prototypes.
? The Environment Office of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation (MVCS-OMA) give us a space to promote an inter-organizational instance. There it takes place the meetings of the Inter-organizational Consultive Committee for the validation of the ECODESS. The organizations present there are PAS-BM, SEDAPAL, UNIVERSIDAD AGRARIA DE LA MOLINA, DIGESA, OPS, CENCA (technical secretary), and the el MVCS among others.
How do you plan to expand your innovation?
After a decade of work devoted to introduce small scale ecologic sanitation focus in the country, the interest of other organizations and local governments for projects has increased. That’s why we decide to cover the big existent deficit in rural sanitation with ECODESS systems (roughly 8 millions people around 4,000 JASS). This doesn’t mean that we are the only ones that do this; on the contrary, we promote that other organizations have the capacity to do it too. So, if we want to reach a so big objective public, we need a very well define strategy.
Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them?
We have signed and agreement with the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation to promote ecologic sanitation in the country. This relation was born after the support given in a project together with Fondo de las Américas FONDAM and a relation with PAS-BM, organization that supports our initiative and with whom we have made a publication about our experience. We also have agreements of joint work with Institución Salud sin Límites Perú and the Yachachiq association SOLCODE.
At this moment we need effective support for each one of the lineaments of the exposed strategy.
Impact
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact.
In Peru there are thousands of families that take care for the environment and they don’t produce lavatory water, they reuse treated water and ecological sanitation residues in green areas.
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact?
-
How many people have you served or plan to serve?
Until December 2007 we have directly assisted 2,500 people; 750 more until June 2008.
We have indirectly assisted (together with other organizations) 2,810 people until December 2007. It’s estimated 2,500 more people at the end of 2008.
Directly
3250 people
Indirectly
5310 people
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation?
In the local field, the Empresa Comunal Agua Nieveria has assisted for more than 3 years no less than 100 families that use Dry Ecologic Bathrooms. In comparison with the conventional system, it is saved USD 6,000/month/family in water; and its consequence is a reduction of 5m3 of lavatory water per month/family.
Roughly 4m3 of grey water are treated and reused in green areas for irrigation. Doing this, it is solved the problem of sea pollution.
With ECODESS it’s possible to:
- Reduce 50% the consumption of drinking water per person.
- Reuse the water in suburbs, where there is lack of water, to irrigate parks and gardens.
- Use quicklime with soil as drying materials for the excrement. In less than half a year we have eliminated pathogenic germs and sanitated the excrement, transforming it into soil. We can use it again as drying material or add it to the fertilizer. Our analyses are supported by the Dirección General de Saneamiento del Perú DIGESA.
In the national field, there is a sustainable proposal that can be applied by the 4,000 JASS around the country. Likewise there is a proposal that would reduce 40% the investment in relation to the cost of the conventional system. It’s suitable for topographic conditions and it can be applied in emergency and risk areas.
In 1997 we installed the first dry ecologic bathrooms (BES). In 2008 there are around 1,500 BES. Today no less than 10 organizations have ECOSAN projects.
The CCI-ECODESS has been established and it looks for a knowledge base to create regulations and a politic proposal of intervention.
Is there a policy intervention element to your innovation, if so please describe?
As state policy there is any yet. This year we will launch basic measures, regulations and political lineament through CCI-ECODESS and the Sustainable Sanitation Forum.
CENCA and the AGUAECOSANPERU program have decided not to implement more conventional sanitation projects because that system has never been sustainable.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation?
ECODESS’ proposal shouldn’t be considered as a model for poor people; on the contrary, in areas of higher resources is where there is more pollution. However, the immediate demand is from rural areas and suburbs; villages with less than 2,000 people. For these areas, the State finances conventional latrines. People from these areas are extremely poor and their income is around USD 100/month/family. Here is where ECODESS and the BES are more important.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
Until now we have received financing from international cooperation funds; personally, I have received support from ASHOKA since 2004 to 2007. At the present we sell accessories and we offer consultant services to other organizations that want to work in the field. We want to strengthen and extend this line and to work with companies to promote social and environmental responsibility and with local and regional governments to promote investments in rural areas, and to train technicians.
Provide information on your finances and organization:
? Annual Budget (fiscal year 2007)
During 2007 we have managed larger funds in other subjects, more specifically in the AGUAECOSANPERU program, which I coordinate. This program works with water and ecologic sanitation specific subjects. We have worked in projects and consultancy for a total amount of USD 97,000.
? Annual Budget in the last two years (2005-2006) for the program AGUAECOSANPERU in relation with Water and Ecologic Sanitation subjects:
2005: USD 75,000
2006: USD 110,000
Incomes are from:
- International cooperation. These funds are not always available.
- Services sales: Consultancy to promoters on ecologic sanitation; use and maintenance; technical advisory to teachers and technicians from NGOs; elaboration of technical files, etc.
- Accessories Sales: We provide eco-toilets, urinals, etc. for organizations and people that want to build a bathroom.
Staff
full-time 2
part-time 4
volunteers 3
What is the potential demand for your innovation?
According to our marketing research, there are 5 objective targets:
1) People from rural areas and suburbs that don’t have services (8 million people). We can reach 10% of a very potential market (local and regional governments, companies).
2) Urban area: water treatment and irrigation of parks.
3) Hotels and recreation centers or shelters with an ecologic focus.
4) Resorts or country lodge complexes.
5) Mining or ecologic products companies.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability?
I believe that we have an important variety of products and a good marketing strategy so the sustainability is a matter of time. In both cases, we need previous investment capital which at the present we don’t count with because, in most cases, the projects are for construction and not for investment on the mentioned items.
The Story
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story.
ECOSAN has no more than 40 years. It’s a management instrument that I put into practice after knowing the ecologic lavatories of César Añorve in Mexico in 1997. I knew that the conventional sanitation system had its limitations and that the water management was a consumer one, so I assumed this concept as an instrument to promote the initiative in Peru. I talked to the board of CENCA and they supported my initiative, which meant to start the design and application of demonstrative units with own funds and Oxfam GB’s. Later, I received support from APGEP SENREM of USAID program. We implemented the Nieveria experience with the support of Madrid’s town hall and Cesal. Then, with ASHOKA’s and other organizations’ support I made ecologic bathrooms in the country. At the present, it have been build more and it’s necessary that the State control the expansion, that’s why I am coordinating, together with CCI-ECODESS, the making of guides and instructional booklets for its evaluation.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material
I was born in Lima on December 11th, 1962. I studied at N. 3060 National School and Miguel Grau School. I studied Architecture at Universidad Nacional de la Ingeniería. Masters in Planning and Environmental Management at the same University. I began my professional activities at the Instituto de desarrollo Urbano CENCA in 1989, where I’m associated member since 1997. Between 2001 and 2002 I was advisor on Environmental Management of Water at PGU- ALC/HABITAT/NNUU. Pioneer impeller of Ecologic Sanitation in Peru since 1997. ASHOKA’s social entrepreneur since 2004. AVINA’s leader since 2006. Founder and coordinator of the CENCA’s AGUAECOSANPERU program. Technical Secretary of the Inter-organizational Consultive Committee for the validation of ECODESS in Peru. Vice-president of CENCA.
There is no activity associated with this entry
