Ecosan toilets. Photo: WHO, Nepal
With over 120 ecosan toilets now operational, Darechowk village in Chitwan district is on its way to upscaling the practice of eco sanitation. Made of mud masonry or using split-bamboo walls, many toilets are in good use already, fertilizing the fields and yet maintaining a sanitary environment.
[...] Encouraged by a sanitation training course he attended in Bharatpur in 2007, Shreerendra Pokharel, the headmaster of the Majhgaun Lower Secondary School, convinced the community to embark on a sanitation programme stewarded by the school. This triggered considerable interest in the community on adopting ecosan latrines since the accumulated urine could be diverted for use in farms.
Darechowk is doing well from the sale of tasty oranges and sanitation is progressing in all the clusters in the Village Development Committee (VDC) area, with ecological sanitation fast becoming the preferred choice. As building materials are expensive, people use local materials primarily for the toilet superstructure. This accessibility enables people to have safe sanitation, and the urine diverted is used in agriculture. The community now has plans to convert the village into an ecological tourism area, with trekking routes and “bed-and-breakfast” facilities.
For details contact Mr Han Heijnen, WHO, Nepal at hanheijnen [at] gmail.com
Source: Environment Health Update, vol. 4, no. 2, Feb-Apr 2009
from field visit.. i came to know that eco san technology is not spread in Bhaktapur district,, many of them heard about Eco san for the very first time… farmers use conventional latrine and use chemical fertilizer… so i suggest if awareness in latrine could be given there…so that it could be as successful as it is there in other districts…
It will be better to launch programs in colabration with youth led organizations