US$ 100,000 grants are available for innovative non-networked sanitation technologies for the urban poor. “Create the Next Generation of Sanitation Technologies” is one of topics in Round 7 of Grand Challenges Explorations, a US$ 100 million grant initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Proposals are being accepted through May 19, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time.
The sanitation call focuses on four specific challenges:
- Unhygienic and inadequate pit/tank emptying and extraction;
- Recovery of energy from communities’ fecal sludge;
- Inappropriate sanitation solutions for areas challenged by an abundance of water (e.g. communities that face seasonal flooding, high groundwater tables, riparian or tidal communities, etc.);
- Easy to clean, attractive and affordable latrine pan / squatting platform technologies that enhance latrines
Proposed ideas must ultimately be designed for low income urban settings such as slums, informal and formal peri-urban settings, or dense rural settings in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia where demand for fecal sludge emptying and treatment are high.
Successful projects have the opportunity to receive a follow-on grant of up to US$1 million.
Innovations can be new ideas or important improvements to existing solutions. Proposals must provide an underlying rationale, a testable hypothesis, and an associated plan for how the idea would be tested or validated.
Proposals are being accepted online at www.grandchallenges.org/explorations.
Read the application instructions.
Read full details of the Create the Next Generation of Sanitation Technologies challenge
Source: Gates Foundation press release, 15 Mar 2011
Sanitation Updates 
Thank you for the update.
Dear Christine
Thank you for update on the New Technology for Sanatation I feel very strong that my organisation is fitting within the grant. Green Network’s focus in the areas that are affected by sever floods. secondly our biogas digester that is presently using cow dung in one of the peri-urban community is proven to be a success and we would make effort to apply for grant.
Rural Education and Environment Development Service(REEDS) is working among the low income rural and urban areas in Tirupur District. Some of the rural and urban slums do not have the toilet facilities. I would like to mention two places one rural PANJAPATTY village where there is no toilet and it is very pathetic may young girls and women, elders use the open toilet in the road side very close to the street which really affect their health and environment. Second place in Dharapuram town slum area where people thickly populated available sanitation facilities is very less and many children, women are affected.
After reading some information about new innovative technologies that can find possible solutions to these very important issues. An I trust that your grant to our organization will step in this areas not just proving sanitation facilities alone, but to generate greater awareness among the poor rural and urban population in this region.
more detailon call us 03465353535
The community that Green Network work with does not have water borne sewage or proper VIP toilets, we have an idea of building a proper sanatation and pipe the human waste to bio-digester and generate biogas for community to use it for cooking, heating spaces and possible light, is that possible to acheived such a goal?
Pakistan’s flood affected areas should have this project; I am sure someone can compe up with a novel idea.