Category: sanitation
By: Raphael Muya,
It is estimated that one-third of the world’s population is served by onsite sanitation which is mainly found in low-income countries and that the majority of fecal sludge is discharged untreated into the environment, placing a huge burden on the public and environmental health. The importance of improved faecal sludge management (FSM) in reducing public health and environmental impacts cannot be over emphasized. Carr (2001) for example, notes that fecal sludge management reduces diarrhoeal morbidity by 36 per cent. IEA-Kenya’s participated in the implementation of a four-year project with SNV Netherlands under the voice for change program focusing on evidence-based advocacy on sanitation confirms that,from the various engagement with stakeholders and conducting research and advocacy on sanitation is a driver for ensuring governments invest on sanitation services.
The issue of toilets and understanding the concept of Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) whether it is on-site or off-site is important to ensure citizens have the knowledge of the process involved in the treatment of the sludge. This understanding of the various stages involved in fecal sludge management can in a way sway the belief and practices of communities that impair sanitation issues and hygiene practices thus improving efforts towards achieving UN targets of Global Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by 2030. The handling of fecal sludge along the sanitation service value chain involves emptying, collection, transportation and disposal/reuse as illustrated in the diagram below.
Figure 1.0 shows a diagrammatic representation of how feacal sludge is collected and through the value chain transformed into farm fertilizer use or production of briquettes. Viewing fecal sludge as a valuable, reusable resource offers the opportunity for waste treatment, cost-recovery plus additional profit.
While acknowledging the importance of FSM concept, advocacy has been key in ensuring better services in the FSM sector as well as bringing multi-sectoral stakeholders together and fostering effective partnership building. In particular, successful implementation and scaling of sustainable and viable FSM solutions require partnerships between the public and private sectors. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be important in improving service delivery in the sanitation sector both at the national and local levels of governance. In PPPs, the public sector creates an enabling environment with policies and regulations and defines budget priorities.
Under the IEA-Kenya and SNV Netherlands project on voice for change project implementation, what came out clearly was that partnership between the local Civil Society Organization (CSOs) working together with the local government officers led to increased budget allocations towards sanitation services. This working relationship is a prerequisite for fostering investments even in the counties particularly on the sanitation value chain. Local governments can provide funds for hygiene promotion and sanitation marketing; fund and support local entrepreneurs and public sector agencies that seek to develop new appropriate technologies; review and revise restrictive planning regulations and promote the use of appropriate sanitation facilities.
Use of feacal sludge into product examples
Reuse of sludge is beneficial on different fronts. The first is on the sludge’s commercialization value, as treated sludge can generate revenues to the community or institutions that work around sludge treatment. After treatment, faecal sludge can be recycled in several ways (Gold et al., 2016; Nikiema et al., 2014; Diener et al., 2014). Examples in Africa include using it as compost fertilizer in agriculture, including in Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Senegal (Cofie et al., 2016; Adam-Bradford et al., 2018). It can also be converted to biogas and electricity as piloted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to briquettes for use as fuel instead of wood charcoal, or to biochar to sequestrate carbon for agriculture, as in Ethiopia (Woldetsadik et al., 2017).
Secondly, Counties in Kenya are embracing the use of these product as an alternative source of energy. For Example, Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company (NAWASSCO) produces briquettes for sale from excreta. These are round-shaped carbonized briquettes made from treated sludge as an alternative fuel for domestic cooking and heating (See figure 1). Additionally, Sanivation, a social enterprise in Naivasha, Kenya has been operating a waste transformation plant that safely treats fecal waste and recovers costs by transforming it into charcoal briquettes.
Outside Kenya, India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, has started producing the world’s most expensive coffee, made from the poop of civet cat, on a small scale in Coorg district of Karnataka. The Civet coffee, also called as Luwark coffee, is expensive because of uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It is produced from the coffee beans digested by civet cat. The feces of this cat are collected, processed and sold. It is highly priced because it is claimed to be more nutritious and high cost involved in sourcing the animal dropping, wastage during processing and quality certification. Civet coffee, a drink of elite consumed widely in the Gulf nations and Europe, is sold for Rs 20,000-25,000/kg abroad.
Conclusion
Talking about toilets may be awkward, but we need to act now and double our efforts if we are to eliminate open defecation and for the government to start investing on sanitation service value chain. While the challenges are significant, meeting the goal of universal sanitation by 2030 is possible with greater investment, sustained effort and increased rates of sanitation coverage and engagement with county governments towards consistent and progressive prioritization of allocation to the Sanitation sector and move toward sanitation service value addition in the sector.
Additionally, sanitation practices have considerable adverse social costs, particularly during this time of pandemic and it’s important for the society to view shit in a pit not just as useless waste but as a product that can be used to improve the life of people economically. The poor state of sanitation has a negative impact on the health status, economic and social wellbeing of the population but the case for investment in sanitation is overwhelming given the expected returns.
References
Cairncross, S.; Feachem, R. (2019). Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics. Water, Sanitation and Disease Control. Routledge.
Gakubia, R., Pokorski, U., & Onyango, P. (2010, January). Upscaling Access to Sustainable Sanitation–Kenya. In International Year of Sanitation (IYS) conference (Vol. 26)
UNICEF and World Health Organization. (2015). Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water, 2015 Update and MDG Assessment http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP-Update-report-2015_English.pdf
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Shit in a Pit and from a Pit to Product
| Post date: Wed, Jun 29, 2022 | | Category: sanitation | | By: Raphael Muya, |
It is estimated that one-third of the world’s population is served by onsite sanitation which is mainly found in low-income countries and that the majority of fecal sludge is discharged untreated into the environment, placing a huge burden on the public and environmental health. The importance of improved faecal sludge management (FSM) in reducing public health and environmental impacts cannot be over emphasized. Carr (2001) for example, notes that fecal sludge management reduces diarrhoeal morbidity by 36 per cent. IEA-Kenya’s participated in the implementation of a four-year project with SNV Netherlands under the voice for change program focusing on evidence-based advocacy on sanitation confirms that,from the various engagement with stakeholders and conducting research and advocacy on sanitation is a driver for ensuring governments invest on sanitation services.
The issue of toilets and understanding the concept of Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) whether it is on-site or off-site is important to ensure citizens have the knowledge of the process involved in the treatment of the sludge. This understanding of the various stages involved in fecal sludge management can in a way sway the belief and practices of communities that impair sanitation issues and hygiene practices thus improving efforts towards achieving UN targets of Global Open Defecation Free (ODF) status by 2030. The handling of fecal sludge along the sanitation service value chain involves emptying, collection, transportation and disposal/reuse as illustrated in the diagram below.
Figure 1.0 shows a diagrammatic representation of how feacal sludge is collected and through the value chain transformed into farm fertilizer use or production of briquettes. Viewing fecal sludge as a valuable, reusable resource offers the opportunity for waste treatment, cost-recovery plus additional profit.
While acknowledging the importance of FSM concept, advocacy has been key in ensuring better services in the FSM sector as well as bringing multi-sectoral stakeholders together and fostering effective partnership building. In particular, successful implementation and scaling of sustainable and viable FSM solutions require partnerships between the public and private sectors. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be important in improving service delivery in the sanitation sector both at the national and local levels of governance. In PPPs, the public sector creates an enabling environment with policies and regulations and defines budget priorities.
Under the IEA-Kenya and SNV Netherlands project on voice for change project implementation, what came out clearly was that partnership between the local Civil Society Organization (CSOs) working together with the local government officers led to increased budget allocations towards sanitation services. This working relationship is a prerequisite for fostering investments even in the counties particularly on the sanitation value chain. Local governments can provide funds for hygiene promotion and sanitation marketing; fund and support local entrepreneurs and public sector agencies that seek to develop new appropriate technologies; review and revise restrictive planning regulations and promote the use of appropriate sanitation facilities.
Use of feacal sludge into product examples
Reuse of sludge is beneficial on different fronts. The first is on the sludge’s commercialization value, as treated sludge can generate revenues to the community or institutions that work around sludge treatment. After treatment, faecal sludge can be recycled in several ways (Gold et al., 2016; Nikiema et al., 2014; Diener et al., 2014). Examples in Africa include using it as compost fertilizer in agriculture, including in Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Senegal (Cofie et al., 2016; Adam-Bradford et al., 2018). It can also be converted to biogas and electricity as piloted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to briquettes for use as fuel instead of wood charcoal, or to biochar to sequestrate carbon for agriculture, as in Ethiopia (Woldetsadik et al., 2017).
Secondly, Counties in Kenya are embracing the use of these product as an alternative source of energy. For Example, Nakuru Water and Sanitation Services Company (NAWASSCO) produces briquettes for sale from excreta. These are round-shaped carbonized briquettes made from treated sludge as an alternative fuel for domestic cooking and heating (See figure 1). Additionally, Sanivation, a social enterprise in Naivasha, Kenya has been operating a waste transformation plant that safely treats fecal waste and recovers costs by transforming it into charcoal briquettes.
Outside Kenya, India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, has started producing the world’s most expensive coffee, made from the poop of civet cat, on a small scale in Coorg district of Karnataka. The Civet coffee, also called as Luwark coffee, is expensive because of uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It is produced from the coffee beans digested by civet cat. The feces of this cat are collected, processed and sold. It is highly priced because it is claimed to be more nutritious and high cost involved in sourcing the animal dropping, wastage during processing and quality certification. Civet coffee, a drink of elite consumed widely in the Gulf nations and Europe, is sold for Rs 20,000-25,000/kg abroad.
Conclusion
Talking about toilets may be awkward, but we need to act now and double our efforts if we are to eliminate open defecation and for the government to start investing on sanitation service value chain. While the challenges are significant, meeting the goal of universal sanitation by 2030 is possible with greater investment, sustained effort and increased rates of sanitation coverage and engagement with county governments towards consistent and progressive prioritization of allocation to the Sanitation sector and move toward sanitation service value addition in the sector.
Additionally, sanitation practices have considerable adverse social costs, particularly during this time of pandemic and it’s important for the society to view shit in a pit not just as useless waste but as a product that can be used to improve the life of people economically. The poor state of sanitation has a negative impact on the health status, economic and social wellbeing of the population but the case for investment in sanitation is overwhelming given the expected returns.
References
Cairncross, S.; Feachem, R. (2019). Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics. Water, Sanitation and Disease Control. Routledge.
Gakubia, R., Pokorski, U., & Onyango, P. (2010, January). Upscaling Access to Sustainable Sanitation–Kenya. In International Year of Sanitation (IYS) conference (Vol. 26)
UNICEF and World Health Organization. (2015). Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water, 2015 Update and MDG Assessment http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP-Update-report-2015_English.pdf
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Kenya’s National Budget: A Matatu Ride Reflecting Fiscal Volatility and Structural Inefficiencies
Introduction The matatu metaphor can be used to analytically frame Kenya’s budget as a system that is subject to binding constraints, evolving expectations, and continuous adjustment to shocks. Like the matatu sector, fiscal policy reflects a balancing act between efficiency and quick action seeking to respond to public service delivery while constrained by competing sector […]
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Introduction Imagine paying the same fare to travel at 6 a.m. as you would at 6 p.m., even though the matatu is half-empty in the morning and packed in the evening. At 6 a.m., there may be more seats available than passengers willing to pay for them. By 6 p.m., the situation is reversed. Hundreds […]
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Absurd hypotheticals are useful precisely because they stress-test a system until its constraints become visible. This note asks what would break first if SpaceX, now a public company following its record-breaking Nasdaq debut in June 2026, with a post-IPO market value of approximately US$ 2.5 trillion, sought a secondary cross-listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. […]
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Kenya’s proposed post-2030 Vision commits the country to high-income status “within a generation.” One positive issue that should be emulated is that the document seeks to solve the most important policy decision and the foundational problem in economics, which is to expand output and labour. Skeptics ask the most important question, why would this plan […]
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According to the Annual Debt Report 2024/25, as shown in Chart 1 below, Kenya today is such that for every one hundred shillings the Kenyan government raises in tax revenue, approximately ksh71 goes directly into servicing existing debt before a single hospital is staffed, a classroom is built, or a kilometre of road is constructed. […]