Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
13
Project title
Bio-Yello – The Angwan Yellow Project
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
The Toilet That Gives Back...A solar-powered biogas toilet transforming waste into sanitation, clean energy, organic manure and livelihoods for the underserved Angwan Yellow community in Abuja, Nigeria.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-olayemi-30a182337/
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I was 12 the first time I ever really pooped. Strange, I know. But that was the first time I ever noticed. Before then, it was just something my body did, a clean, closed space with the soothing feel of the white bowl, all taken for granted. I never questioned it until one school trip made me see it for what it really was: a luxury. During my class's agricultural fact-finding excursion to Angwan Yellow, a community not far from my school, I saw young children openly doing the private business of excretion. I saw older people releasing excreta into the most available, but unsafe, water source. It sent shocks down my spine, and that visit became a turning point in my view of life. The sharp contrast between my privileges and the reality of Angwan Yellow is something I cannot erase from my memory. Realising how close the community could be to a disease outbreak, and the chain reaction that could follow, put the fear of God in me. Yet, the possibilities created by the right infrastructure far outweighed my fears. I began to see that something could be done. Rather than looking away, I decided to act. I started a campaign within my school, convincing my school community to join me. With a team of 12 students with varying skill sets, we began developing a solar-powered biogas toilet to serve Angwan Yellow in more than one way.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
The first time I visited the Angwan Yellow Community, I wasn’t looking for a problem to solve, just legumes. However, as I like to say, this problem found me. Open defecation had my team and me asking: “How can we help?” “What can we do at our age?” We thought of providing sheltered toilets but realised it wouldn’t be easy. The village relies on a river and an end-of-life borehole, with few sustainable ways to flush and clean toilets. We came up with the idea to sink a borehole for the toilets and community. But how would we power it without reliable electricity? Why use regular toilets? Why not upgrade to a solar-powered biogas facility? Two birds, one stone! Beyond human waste, biogas needs organic waste. Angwan Yellow is a farming community with agricultural waste and a market every 4–5 days that produces waste. The facility could turn this waste into biogas, generating another energy source. Three birds, one stone! What do we do with the churned waste? Compost it! Feed it back into agriculture and help sustain those needed to maintain the facility. Four birds, one stone! This project tackles open defecation, reduces disease risks, provides water, generates solar and biogas energy, creates jobs and produces manure, feeding the earth sustainably. It is ONE sustainable solution that betters this community’s lives in a million different ways!
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Our solution is to develop a solar-powered biogas toilet facility for the Angwan Yellow community that turns waste into useful resources. The facility will provide clean, sheltered toilets, reducing open defecation and disease risks while restoring privacy and dignity. A borehole will provide water for the facility and community, while solar power and biogas energy will support operations despite unreliable electricity. The system will use human waste alongside biodegradable agricultural and market waste to produce biogas, helping manage waste that might otherwise accumulate around homes, farms and the market. The process will also produce nutrient-rich material that can be composted into organic manure for local farms. Farmers could exchange agricultural waste for compost, creating a cycle that manages waste, restores soil nutrients and potentially reduces farming costs. Beyond sanitation, water and energy, the facility could create jobs in waste collection, operation, cleaning and maintenance. As the system develops, its energy could also support needs beyond the facility. The project has successfully completed a laboratory experiment demonstrating that human and organic waste can generate biogas. Our team has developed an on-paper design and raised about $1,100 through fundraising. The community has allocated land for the project, and we are assessing its suitability while working towards government approval. Our aim is not simply to build a toilet, but to create a sustainable, community-based system that transforms waste into sanitation, water, clean energy, manure and opportunity, addressing several interconnected challenges through one solution.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Angwan Yellow has about 400 people, with over half of its families engaged in farming. The project could provide sheltered toilets and safer water, reducing exposure to contamination and lowering the risk of diseases such as cholera. Farmers could use nutrient-rich compost to improve soil fertility, reduce fertiliser costs and exchange agricultural waste for a useful resource instead of dumping it. Cleaner surroundings would reduce waste-related hazards and improve community health. Biogas-generated energy could light designated reading spots where schoolchildren can study when the national grid fails. With suitable infrastructure, it could eventually support other community needs. The facility could create paid jobs in cleaning, maintenance, waste collection and operation, providing income while building practical skills. Residents could also learn about renewable energy, composting and responsible waste management, strengthening community ownership. Improved sanitation and a cleaner environment could protect residents' dignity, support children's school attendance and strengthen farming livelihoods. With effective management and the necessary approvals, Angwan Yellow could inspire similar projects in other underserved communities.This is more than a toilet project; it is an opportunity to turn waste into wealth, protect public health, restore dignity and improve livelihood.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
According to the United Nations, SDG Target 6.2, part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by all 193 UN Member States in 2015, aims to achieve adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation by 2030, paying special attention to vulnerable groups. Bio-Yello – The Angwan Yellow Project is not simply another toilet facility the community may struggle to sustain. It connects sanitation to other community needs by combining existing technologies and local resources into one interconnected system. Instead of relying entirely on unreliable water and electricity supplies, we propose a borehole supported by solar power, with biogas providing an additional energy source. We also turn waste into a resource. Human, agricultural and organic market waste will serve as feedstock for biogas production rather than being discarded. The process does not end with biogas. The by-products can be composted and returned to local farms as organic manure. Farmers could exchange agricultural waste for compost, creating a cycle that manages waste, restores soil nutrients and potentially reduces farming costs. Most importantly, we are designing the solution around the people affected. The facility has the potential to provide cleaner sanitation, safer water, energy, employment and improved agricultural practices while restoring the dignity of being able to attend to one's private needs privately. Bio-Yello combines existing solutions in a way tailored to Angwan Yellow. Rather than tackling open defecation in isolation, it aims to transform one community facility into a sustainable cycle of sanitation, energy, agriculture, waste management and opportunity.
How many people are on your team?
12
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Our team consists of 12 students, supported by our wider school community. We began with three groups of four, sharing responsibilities for fundraising and awareness, design, and technical planning. As the project develops, we intend to involve teachers and parents with expertise in engineering, architecture, approvals and sustainable, locally sourced materials. We currently share leadership by allowing each member to lead in their area of strength while working together to make decisions.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, my team and I will engage professionals among our teachers and parents to help build an expandable prototype of our biogas toilet system. We will refine the design for safety, efficiency and optimal functionality while minimising power wastage. We will raise awareness and pursue the necessary approvals for testing. The prototype will help us identify improvements before expanding the facility. Funding from donors like Carnegie will support materials, construction, technical expertise and safety assessments. It will help us optimise biogas generation from human and organic waste, integrate solar energy and the borehole into the facility’s operations, and establish safe methods for converting by-products into nutrient-rich compost. It will also support community engagement, technical refinement and approvals, paving the way for testing and phased expansion. We will tailor the system to Angwan Yellow’s needs, prioritising locally sourced materials to make construction and maintenance more affordable. With the right expertise, funding and community participation, we aim to transform Bio-Yello from a design into a sustainable solution that improves sanitation, water access, energy supply and livelihoods.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Continuity is key to the success of this project. We are intentionally ensuring that it does not depend on one person or one group of students. Since the idea originated within our school community, we want younger students to understand the problem, learn about the change we are trying to make, and have the opportunity to become part of it. We also plan to sensitise and involve the Angwan Yellow community, because this project is ultimately for them. We want community members to see it as their project too, so they can help protect it, maintain it and encourage younger people within the community to work alongside us during and beyond the building stage. To make this possible, we plan to pass the project on to younger students in our school who volunteer to continue the work. This will create a clear path for leadership succession and allow new ideas and skills to strengthen the project over time. For us, activating others is not simply about getting more people to join. It is about helping people feel that they have a stake in the solution. We want the project to outlive our initial team, continue growing and, most importantly, remain useful to the Angwan Yellow community for years to come.
