India’s Sanitation Problem
In India, only 31% of people have access to a toilet. That means the rest have to do their business in the open. This causes a host of problems. The obvious problems include unbearable smells, poor hygiene, and disease. But there are some not-so-obvious issues that make open defecation even more unacceptable such as women being put in vulnerable situations for sexual abuse and rape. I’ve had the opportunity to see these bleak circumstances first hand as I have partnered with organisations aimed at stopping these issues.
The Solution: Soilets
In 2011, I came to India with a US-based organisation called HELP International. HELP had assigned me to be the Student Engineer to introduce the concept of “Soilets” to India. Soilets are innovative toilets which break down human waste using earthworms. These magnificent earthworms turn the waste into compost so that people who don’t have access to a sewer system can use a toilet which literally has no smell and no maintenance cost–promises which the prevailing rural latrines cannot make. As I joined HELP International in 2011, we found an organization in Hyderabad, India who immediately wanted to implement Soilets. This organisation, called SAPID, consists of a handful of women who oversee the development and public health of slums in the outskirts of Hyderabad. With the combined forces or HELP and SAPID, we constructed 7 Soilets in 2011. This is obviously just a drop in the ocean compared to the millions of Indians still lacking such a thing, but it didn’t stop there. I have returned to India–now 5 years later–to discover that SAPID has now built over 150 Soilets in their slum. What seamed as an odd invention to these slum-dwellers in 2011 has now become a way of life. My goal for the next few weeks here in India is to take Soilets to the next level in that more organisations and government officials are sold on the idea of Soilets.
Last Updated: December 28, 2022 by Sean Sevy
Soilets: Toilets with Worms that Eat Human Waste
India’s Sanitation Problem
In India, only 31% of people have access to a toilet. That means the rest have to do their business in the open. This causes a host of problems. The obvious problems include unbearable smells, poor hygiene, and disease. But there are some not-so-obvious issues that make open defecation even more unacceptable such as women being put in vulnerable situations for sexual abuse and rape. I’ve had the opportunity to see these bleak circumstances first hand as I have partnered with organisations aimed at stopping these issues.
The Solution: Soilets
In 2011, I came to India with a US-based organisation called HELP International. HELP had assigned me to be the Student Engineer to introduce the concept of “Soilets” to India. Soilets are innovative toilets which break down human waste using earthworms. These magnificent earthworms turn the waste into compost so that people who don’t have access to a sewer system can use a toilet which literally has no smell and no maintenance cost–promises which the prevailing rural latrines cannot make. As I joined HELP International in 2011, we found an organization in Hyderabad, India who immediately wanted to implement Soilets. This organisation, called SAPID, consists of a handful of women who oversee the development and public health of slums in the outskirts of Hyderabad. With the combined forces or HELP and SAPID, we constructed 7 Soilets in 2011. This is obviously just a drop in the ocean compared to the millions of Indians still lacking such a thing, but it didn’t stop there. I have returned to India–now 5 years later–to discover that SAPID has now built over 150 Soilets in their slum. What seamed as an odd invention to these slum-dwellers in 2011 has now become a way of life. My goal for the next few weeks here in India is to take Soilets to the next level in that more organisations and government officials are sold on the idea of Soilets.
Category: Soilets, Uncategorized