Archive for Water

This story originally appeared in our March 10, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Tanclean has developed the first scientific process for ensuring that drinking water tanks in India are sanitary.

When Sunil Uplap saw filthy-looking men smoking cigarettes climb into a drinking-water tank in an up-market residential area of Pune, he was shocked to realize they were actually cleaning the tank.

After that, Uplap immediately began work on developing a safe and scientific way to clean drinking water tanks.

A few years later, Tanclean was born. Tanclean is the first scientific method for cleaning tanks that uses cleaning machines and a specially developed anti-bacterial agent which is biodegradable, eco-friendly and safe. The entire process is done within 60 minutes and lasts for 90 days. » Continue reading “Clean the Tanclean Way”

This story originally appeared in our March 10, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Sarvajal’s innovative business model makes clean, affordable drinking water accessible in rural India.

In an ideal world, centralized utility systems pipeline affordable, drinkable water to every household in the rural Indian landscape. Reality, however, is different: building utilities is expensive and time-consuming, especially for dispersed, heterogeneous, rural populations. The long payback period deters the private sector from taking on the challenge. In the absence of pipelines, transporting water—a low-cost and heavy substance—is expensive. With diesel prices rising and pothole-ridden roads abounding, last mile distribution is difficult, and adding long distance trucking costs to the price of water immediately puts it out of the poor’s reach. » Continue reading “Water Challenges in Rural India”

This post is part of our ongoing partnership with GOOD Magazine. Post by Alex Goldmark of GOOD Magazine.

Ram Rati is a 40-year-old female mechanic in India. If you think that sounds impressive, it is, but that’s not the half of it. Rati was married off at 11 years old and escaped at 13. She spent the next 15 years grinding wheat for a living. An admirable story of perseverance all too common in her native India, but the real achievement comes next.

Rati is now a hero in her village, in part because she’s now using her mechanic’s know-how to fix broken wells and increase the availability of clean water. She has also become and advocate for other women in her conservative region of rural northern India, encouraging them to remove their veils, send their girls to school and, for some of them, to become mechanics, too. » Continue reading “Water, Wells and One Wonderful Woman”

For several years, there has been more dialogue about using microfinance institution networks for water and sanitation loans. “WaterCredit,” as it is called, has been pioneered by Water.org (formerly Water Partners). On Friday, in Chennai, WaterCredit experts, users, and facilitators came together to discuss where the WaterCredit space stands, the progress made to date, and the scope for WaterCredit provision in the future.

The Need
There is no doubt about the need. Around the world, 900 million people lack access to clean water; 2.6 billion lack access to sanitation. In India, 130 million people are without clean water and 840 million people lack access to proper sanitation.  Of the total, 90% of the Watsan burden is borne by women. Not to mention, the poor pay an unbelievable 12 times what the rich pay for a single liter of water. Why? The poor often don’t see the benefits of infrastructure improvements, which is where most of the subsidies go.

Piloting the Concept
Several MFIs have been trying out a new product in the hopes of meeting their clients water and sanitation needs. BASIX entered into a partnership with Water Partners several years ago in an effort to gain insight into the technical and financial feasibility of microcredit products to » Continue reading “WaterCredit: Pilot Results Revealed”

A scene from our Big Squat

Last Thursday was World Toilet Day, an international day to recognize the need for proper sanitation around the world. Upon encouragement from our friends at the World Toilet Organization, the Beyond Profit team organized an event—a Big Squat—a public demonstration of sorts. Big Squats were held around the world in 19 countries, to raise awareness of the 2.5 billion people who don’t have access to toilets.

We thought it was a great idea, and went about telling everyone we knew to meet us at the beach in Mumbai, Chowpatty, to gather and squat. It was all going as planned until the police got wind of things. Their friends at the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) had tipped them off when they saw our announcement in the Mumbai Mirror (the New York Post of Mumbai) inviting the good citizens of Mumbai to join us.

Surrounded by 14 cops and two high ranking BMC officials, we started to question if we had gone about our public demonstration in the right way. First, we probably should have been clearer. It turns out that the BMC and the police were under the impression that we planned to rally a big group of people to collectively use the bathroom on the beach. Even after we cleared that up—that we had no intention of actually using the beach as our loo (just a demonstration folks!)—the police were still wary. They said that because of the terror attacks in Mumbai a year ago, there are no public demonstrations allowed on Chowpatty Beach at all. Big Squat foiled.

What we did do, before we were shut down, was hand out educational flyers to beachgoers. Printed in Hindi and English, the flyers told people about the need for proper sanitation, and the need for more toilets in Mumbai, both public, and in homes and slum communities. People were happy to see us, and interested in what we had to say.

Sheepishly, we must admit that we learned a lot more on Thursday than we anticipated. Next time, we’ll speak to our friends at the BMC and the Mumbai police commission first, and get their buy-in so that they realize we’re allies in this process, not enemies. Second, we’ll get a press partner in advance. At the event, we had 6 radio correspondents show up who said they would be happy to publicize a cool event like this in the future. Third, we’ll do awareness raising activities on the ground, on site leading up to our big event to generate excitement and dialogue. Lastly, we’ll also put our messages in Marathi, the state language! Hindi is always appreciated, but with some audiences, the local language is even better understood. It’s all about knowing your audience.

As you know, today Beyond Profit will squat for  the World Toilet Organization–a group with a great sense of humor–to get people to sit up and take notice of pressing sanitation issues. The Big Squat asks citizens of the world to squat in a public place for one minute in order to recognize the 2.5 billion people who don’t have access to sanitation.

For all those interested in joining the squat movement with us, please note that the squat will start from the Banyan Tree on Chowpatty beach across the Cafe Coffee Day outlet. So see you all there.

November 19th is World Toilet Day. Sounds like a joke, right? We thought so, but as we’ve learned more about sanitation, we realized that there is a very real need to raise awareness about this issue–which sometimes means uncomfortable conversations! For the 2.5 billion people (nearly half of the world’s population) w…ho don’t have access to toilets, sanitation is really about health; equipping communities with the tools for proper sanitation can make a difference between life or death.

Next Thursday, the World Toilet Organization–a group with a great sense of humor–is organizing a public event to get people to sit up and take notice of pressing sanitation issues. The Big Squat asks citizens of the world to squat in a public place for one minute in order to recognize the 2.5 billion people who don’t have access to sanitation. Big Squat events are being organized all over the world, with the most in India!

Beyond Profit is organizing a Big Squat right in our own backyard – on Chowpatty Beach, Marine Drive at 5pm on Thursday, November 19. Please join us! For more information, email us at ideas@beyondprofit.com.

The following is a guest contribution from our friend Jenny Steeves at the World Toilet Organization.

A cholera epidemic has killed over 4,300 people in Zimbabwe since late 2008. One hundred seventy of those people live in Chitungwiza, a sprawling high-density suburb of Harare, which faces sewage and water problems, the likes of which most of the world eradicated in the late 19th century.

In the midst of this living horror is a small charity working with local students called Youth 2 Youth.  To help prevent their students from getting cholera, they are doing exactly what we want YOU to do: they’re celebrating World Toilet Day on November 19th.

World Toilet Day was created in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization to raise awareness for a subject everyone finds embarrassing. But our embarrassment prevents us from facing the problem: 2.5 billion people around the world have no access to sanitation. And, 1.8 million people, mostly children, die every year from diseases like cholera or simple diarrhea. To help them, it’s time for you to get over your shyness.

This years’ World Toilet Day celebration is going to be the biggest yet—if people like you join people like Zimbabwe’s Youth 2 Youth in celebrating it.

On November 19, World Toilet Day events will take place all over the world. India has the most events scheduled by a single country, and will feature creative activities like the Beautiful Toilet contest by the Vasantham Trust.  Ahead of World Toilet Day they will visit schools and discuss the importance of keeping toilets clean.  And will return on World Toilet Day to award certificates for the most beautifully maintained toilets.

While there is a serious side to why we celebrate World Toilet Day, sometimes humor is needed to break down our inhibitions.  That is precisely what is happening in London where Pump Aid and the National Union of Students are partnering for a night of comedy called “It’s not a taboo, it’s just poo!”

But the biggest event is one that’s sure to generate media coverage—and it’s the easiest thing you can do to participate. We call it The Big Squat – a movement for the toilet-less.  Here’s what’s going to happen: on November 19th, in workplaces, busy locations and universities around the world, groups of people are going to stop and squat. For one minute.  Stop, drop and squat.  And then they’ll explain to everyone who notices them why they’re squatting—and what can be done to solve the problem of sanitation. Big Squats are being planned in places ranging from McGill University in Montreal, a mall in central Singapore, and a big public high school in California – and more Squat Squads are forming every day.

In Zimbabwe, Youth 2 Youth will be teaching students about importance of proper sanitation and handwashing through activities such as poetry writing, performing plays, drawing competitions and concerts.  They are teaching kids who live in fear of cholera every day that the disease can be prevented—if only people talk about toilets.

The countdown to World Toilet Day has begun. Join us to make a difference! Visit our website and start a Squat Squad today!

For the villages of India, access to water is a matter of life or death. Not just access to clean, safe drinking water, but water for household needs, for washing and bathing, for irrigation, for livestock. On top of issues of access, the relationship between water and the natural environment affects the lives of many villagers – When will the monsoon arrive?  How much rain will fall this season? What if the village floods?

Water dictates life and livelihoods.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the UN Solution Exchange Third Annual Forum on the Water Community in Kolkata, India. This year’s event focused on water and sanitation challenges in the northeastern and eastern states of India. Structured as a meeting for practitioners, each comment, idea, or solution provided value, especially for this demographic whose voices we rarely hear.

While there is much to be excited about in the area of water and sanitation, some experts would call the prognosis gloomy. While families may have access to a water pump, there is no guarantee that there is water to be pumped. The availability of ground water is depleting very fast. Ground water is contaminated. Arsenic levels are too high, as are fluoride levels. Communities are unable to retain rainwater – in West Bengal, the most water-stretched panchayat (a sub-set of a district) in the state can only capture and store 2-5% of rainfall. Ideally, this number should hover between 15% and 20%.  While solutions to fix these problems have to be local, ideas can be global.

For issues of water and sanitation in India, the problem is national. And in a country of over a billion people, in order for national issues to be addressed, a national body must do so. Enter the Indian government. It is the only body that can address such an issue in an overarching and systematic way. It is the only body with the reach to do so. Indeed, it is the largest player in this space.

Yet, herein lies the conundrum.  Who is the largest stumbling block in the water sector? The government.

There is a tendency in Indian politics, in Indian bureaucracy, to prioritize making water available, to ensuring access to water. With this, quality will come next. Yet if water lacks quality—if it is contaminated—it is useless.

There is an urgent and pressing need to integrate issues of water quality into the delivery of water. While there are many examples of isolated successes of micro interventions, both from the government and from the private sector, achieving scale has still proven elusive.

Sanitation is a different battle altogether because it involves behavioral change. Over 600 million Indians practice open defecation. In order for India to meet the Millennium Development Goal regarding sanitation, at the current population growth rate, over 3 million people per month will need to be convinced to stop practicing open defecation.

The solution is simple: construct a sanitary toilet for every household in India. But to do this for millions of households is daunting. Changing habits means motivating every individual to change their way of life, ways of life that have existed for centuries. And this is a long and complex process.

To close, I will share a quick statistic from UNICEF: In India, household toilet coverage is over 60%, but usage stands at 28%. And this, my friends, is fodder for another blog entry for another day…