Engineers Without Borders-USA and Composting Toilets Overview and Nicaragua Project by Pat Coyle, Livermore Rotary, EWB-SFP ATDT lead, for Rotary Club of Castro Valley, December 2, 2014

1. Engineers
Without
Borders-­‐USA
and
Compos8ng
Toilets
Overview
and
Nicaragua
Project
Pat
Coyle
Livermore
Rotary
EWB-­‐SFP
ATDT
lead
for
Rotary
Club
of
Castro
Valley
December
2,
2014

2. Agenda
• Overview:
Remember
EWB
and
Rotary
partner
on
many
levels
• Engineers
Without
Borders-­‐USA
(EWB-­‐USA)
• Engineers
Without
Borders
—
San
Francisco
Professional
Chapter
(EWB-­‐SFP)
• Service
Corps
and
Appropriate
Technology
Design
Team
(ATDT)
• Compos8ng
toilets,
background
–
the
need
• Benefits/Advantages/Safety
considera8ons
• Some
organiza8ons
involved,
overview
–
types,
examples:
• Household
or
school:
with
in-­‐vault
or
on-­‐site
compos8ng
• Urban:
sanita8on-­‐as-­‐service,
with
off-­‐site
compos8ng
• SFP-­‐ATDT
project:
Compos8ng
Latrines
in
Nicaragua

3. EWB-­‐USA
vision
and
mission
Agenda
• Updates
and
status:
Belize
Open
Source
-­‐
Sustainable
Development
• Engineers
Without
Borders-­‐USA
(EWB-­‐USA)
• Engineers
Without
Borders
—
San
Francisco
Professional
Chapter
(EWB-­‐SFP)
• Updates
and
status:
Three
EWB
chapter
projects
in
northern
Belize
• Belize
photos
• Road
past
Belize
Open
Source
40-­‐acre
site
toward
August
Pine
Ridge
village
A
world
in
which
all
communi8es
have
the
capacity
to
meet
their
basic
human
needs
Supports
community-­‐driven
development
programs
worldwide
through
the
design
and
implementa8on
of
sustainable
engineering
projects,
while
fostering
responsible
leadership

4. EWB-­‐USA
Growth
2000
8
Members
1
Chapter
1
Project
2014
14,700
Members
~
300
Chapters
684+
Programs
39
countries

5. EWB-­‐SFP
Na8on’s
1st
Professional
Chapter
• Established
in
2004
• ~
200
ac8ve
members
• 7
infrastructure
programs
• 2
Appropriate
Technology
Design
Team
(ATDT)
projects
• Execu8ve
Commicee
and
support
commicees
provide
chapter
management,
fundraising,
and
publicity

6. EWB-­‐SFP
Programs
and
Loca8ons
Kenya
Water
Supply
El
Salvador
Water
&
SanitaIon
Fiji
Water
System
Kenya
Water
System
HaiI
Community
Health
Clinic
and
Solar
Power
Honduras
Bridge
ConstrucIon
&
Water
DistribuIon
Nicaragua
ATDT
ComposIng
Toilets
Water
distribuIon
–
solar
pump
Tanzania
Well
rebuilding,
water
DistribuIon
&
solar
pumping

7. EWB
Program
Process
and
Commitment
• Programs
have
a
non-­‐governmental
organiza8on
(NGO)
or
community
based
organiza8on
(CBO)
partner
ac8ng
as
a
liaison
to
the
community
• Three
project
phases:
1. Assessment
2. Design
and
Implementa8on
3. Monitoring
and
Evalua8on
• Infrastructure
projects
have
a
minimum
5-­‐year
commitment
to
the
community
• Service
Corps
and
Appropriate
Technology
projects
vary
in
length
depending
on
the
needs
of
the
NGO
and
community

8. • EWB-­‐USA's
Engineering
Service
Corps
offers
the
exper8se
of
our
most
seasoned
volunteers
to
organiza8ons
in
the
interna8onal
development
sector
• Collaborates
with
NGOs
and
governments
who
use
a
community-­‐driven
approach
and
who
lack
access
to
the
resources
needed
to
design
sustainable
and
appropriate
solu8ons
to
engineering
challenges
• Performs
a
variety
of
services,
including
engineering
studies,
owner's
representa8on,
planning,
design,
monitoring
and
evalua8on

9. 11/21/14
email
blast:
Current
Volunteer
Opportunity:
System
Analysis
for
Oxygen
Generator
|
Nejo
Hospital,
Ethiopia
• Need:
The
East
Africa
Medical
Relief
Founda8on
is
working
with
Nejo
Hospital
to
apply
for
a
Rotary
Global
Grant
for
the
installa8on
of
an
oxygen
generator.
This
is
an
urgent
need
because
pa8ents
rou8nely
suffer
from
unnecessary
medical
complica8ons
due
to
a
lack
of
access
to
oxygen
for
therapy…
• Time
frame:
Support
for
the
grant
applica8on
will
occur
over
the
next
several
weeks.
Grant
8ming
and
scope
will
determine
the
schedule
for
subsequent
project
work
• Qualifica8ons:
The
ideal
candidate(s)
would
have
a
background
in
medical
equipment
support
in
the
developing
world
• Yes,
I'm
interested
in
this
opportunity
>>

10. Appropriate
Technology
Design
Team
(ATDT)
• EWB-­‐SFP’s
ATDT
is
a
group
of
MEs,
EEs
and
other
product
development
professionals
who
provide
engineering
design
and
research
assistance
for
projects
in
developing
communi8es
throughout
the
world
•
The
team
works
with
in-­‐country
partners
to
design
for
local
condi8ons
so
that
solu8ons
are
appropriate
and
sustainable
• The
implemented
solu8ons
empower
communi8es
by
providing
tools
that
facilitate
local
economic
development
and
provide
basic
needs,
local
educa8on,
and
entrepreneurial
opportuni8es

11. EWB-­‐USA
is
rolling
out
Appropriate
Technology
Design
na8onally
• EWB-­‐HQ’s
new
Service
Corps
mode,
includes
ATDT
• Sam
Burd,
EWB-­‐SFP,
leads
the
EWB-­‐HQ
ATDT
ini8a8ve,
and
put
out
a
call
to
bring
forward
AT
projects
for
inclusion
in
the
na8onal
program
• We
have
submiced
the
two
EWB-­‐SFP
ATDT
projects
• We
don't
know
yet
exactly
what
that
will
mean
for
our
projects,
perhaps
more
visibility,
opportuni8es
for
collabora8on,
or
fundraising
support

12. EWB-­‐SFP
ATDT
ac8ve
projects
For
addi8onal
informa8on
on
the
ATDT
projects
see:
hcp://www.ewb-­‐sfp.org/atdt

13. ATDT
completed
or
closed
projects

14. Compos8ng
toilets
–
the
need
Over
2.6
billion
people
don’t
have
access
to
toilets
with
huge
health
consequences:
• Open
defeca8on
and
improperly
maintained,
overflowing
latrines
contaminate
drinking
water
and
food
supplies
• The
resultant
cholera,
hepa88s,
parasites
and
other
microscopic
nas8es
claim
lives,
sicken
people
and
cripple
economies
by
keeping
people
home
from
school
and
work.
1.8
million
people
die
every
year
from
diarrheal
diseases,
and
90%
of
these
are
children
under
the
age
of
5
• Safety
-­‐
Lack
of
toilets
puts
women
at
risk.
In
India
in
May
2014,
two
young
girls
were
acacked,
raped
and
ler
hanging
from
a
tree.
The
deaths
could
have
been
prevented
if
the
girls
had
access
to
a
safe
toilet.
Lacking
one,
as
millions
do,
they
went
to
an
open
field
to
relieve
themselves

15. Benefits
of
compos8ng
toilets
Compos8ng
toilets
have
clear
ecological
and
economical
advantages
over
flush
toilets.
In
addi8on
to
addressing
the
sanita8on
issue,
they:
• turn
waste
into
compost.
The
compost
can
fer8lize
crops,
comple8ng
a
circle
of
nutrients
that
saves
and
rebuilds
soils
and
saves
money
• save
money
in
the
costs
of
sewage
disposal
and
in
fer8lizer
• require
much
less
water
and
energy
Cell
phone
analogy
-­‐
some
developing
countries
have
skipped
land
lines,
moved
directly
to
cell
phone
networks
Similarly,
they
could
skip
the
water
and
energy
intensive
sewer
treatment
approach
-­‐
and
instead,
rely
on
dry
sanita8on,
compos8ng
solu8ons

16. Managing
Poop
Safely
When
is
the
compost
containing
poop
safe
to
use?
(from
A
Sewer
Catastrophe
Companion
with
references)
• Op8on
1:
Reten8on
-­‐
Retaining
compost
can
kill
many
pathogens
by
keeping
pathogens
away
from
their
host
(our
gut),
however,
Ascaris
eggs
(roundworm)
can
last
up
to
130
days
and
s8ll
be
viable.
Retaining
compost
for
two
years
(730
days)
is
considered
extremely
safe
• Op8on
2:
High
Temps
-­‐
Most
pathogens
are
adapted
for
a
narrow
temperature
range
around
their
host’s
body
temperature,
and
very
few
survive
outside
of
that
range.
Two
consecu8ve
days
at
57°C
(135°F)
kills
roundworm
eggs.
Federal
guidelines
for
sewage
sludge
treatment
require
three
days
at
55°C
(131°F)
for
pathogen
reduc8on

17. Managing
Pee
Safely
• Urine
Disease
Risks:
In
healthy
people
urine
is
sterile,
although
it
may
pick
up
bacteria
or
feces
while
leaving
the
urethra
• Addressing
Urine
Disease
Risks:
When
retained
outside
the
body,
the
urea
and
water
in
urine
quickly
change
to
ammonia
and
then
ammonium
during
reten8on,
raising
the
pH
from
around
7
to
around
9.
The
pH
change
and
presence
of
ammonia
(which
is
toxic
to
all
living
cells
at
high
concentra8ons)
is
enough
to
inac8vate
most
bacteria
within
2
hours
• In
Sweden,
urine
is
used
as
a
fer8lizer
for
any
crop
arer
a
one
month
reten8on
at
20°
C
(must
be
applied
one
month
before
plan8ng
for
crops
that
are
to
be
eaten
raw)

18. Killing
the
Tough
Bugs

19. Some
major
organiza8ons
involved

20. Some
major
organiza8ons
involved

21. Some
major
organiza8ons
involved

22. Some
major
organiza8ons
involved

23. Overview
–
types,
examples
SOIL,
Sustainable
Organic
Integrated
Livelihoods,
developed
EcoSan
latrines
that
store
human
waste
in
removable
15-­‐gallon
drums
for
compos8ng.
SOIL
and
its
partners
build
and
manage
latrines,
compost
centers
and
vegetable
gardens
and
hold
sanita8on
workshops
in
Port
au
Prince

24. Resource
blogged;
cartridge-­‐based
sanita8on
services…have
tremendous
poten8al,
but
to
reach
that
poten8al
we
need
to
make
them
much,
much
bigger…more
than
748
million
people
live
in
ci8es
today
without
access
to
decent
sanita8on,
and
that
number
grows
every
day.
We
need
to
move
from
serving
thousands
of
people…to
hundreds
of
millions…We’ve
been
hard
at
work
on
several
fronts
-­‐
hardware
development,
sorware
development,
and
impact
evalua8on
–
all
cri8cal
for
urban
sanita8on
services
to
scale

25. Concept:
ultra-­‐low-­‐cost
toilet
using
removable
containers
• Easy
to
collect
and
transport
wastes
safely
from
the
community
• A
good
toilet
is
a
symbol
of
cleanliness
and
modernity
• Beyond
being
odorless,
hygienic,
and
vector-­‐free,
toilet
needs
to
be
elegant,
modern,
and
pleasant
to
use
• It
needs
to
be
cheap.
Toilet
combines
a
20-­‐L
bucket,
a
liquid
container,
and
a
western-­‐style
toilet
seat
into
a
sealed,
portable,
urine-­‐diver8ng
toilet

26. Resource:
full
cycle
• Collect
and
deliver
the
wastes
to
SOIL’s
exis8ng
compost
sites
•
Remove
full
containers,
replace
with
clean
ones
•
Transport
containers,
carts
to
trucks
• Compost
waste,
clean
containers
at
the
compost
site
• Sell
the
compost
to
help
finance
the
service,
restore
Hai8’s
devastated
soil

27. Overview
–
types,
examples
X-­‐runner
is
opera8ng
sanita8on
as
a
service
to
low-­‐income,
urban
households
that
cannot
have
regular
toilets
in
Lima,
Peru;
where
3
million
people
don’t
have
a
toilet
at
home
and
use
latrines

28. Overview
–
types,
examples
Clean
team,
in
Ghana,
offers
an
innova8ve,
affordable
sanita8on
solu8on
for
low-­‐income
communi8es
in
the
developing
world

29. Overview
–
types,
examples
Sanergy
builds
healthy,
prosperous
communi8es
by
making
hygienic
sanita8on
affordable
and
accessible
throughout
Africa's
informal
seclements.
Recently
honored
by
Silicon
Valley’s
Tech
Award

30. Overview
–
types,
examples
EWB
Portland
Maine
Professionals,
(Portland
State
University)
For
Ethiopia,
Debre
Birhan
School
Sanita8on
project

31. Overview
–
types,
examples
EWB
UNIVERSITY
OF
NEVADA,
LAS
VEGAS
PROFESSIONALS,
NICARAGUA,
SAN
FRANCISCO
LIBRE,
LOMAS
DEL
SOL
SANITARY
IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT

32. Overview
–
types,
examples
(Cont.)
EWB
UNIVERSITY
OF
NEVADA,
LAS
VEGAS
PROFESSIONALS,
NICARAGUA,
SAN
FRANCISCO
LIBRE,
LOMAS
DEL
SOL
SANITARY
IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT

33. Specific
case:
SFP-­‐ATDT
Compos8ng
Latrines
in
Nicaragua
• In
2010,
EWB-­‐SFP
ATDT,
Alvarez
Co-­‐op,
Alcance
Nicaragua
(AN)
and
Outreach
Interna8onal
(OI),
built
ten
compos8ng
toilets
with
the
community
of
Los
Alvarez,
Nicaragua
(134
families,
~
938
people)
• 95%
of
its
latrines
were
in
poor
condi8on.
These
latrines
flood
with
water
during
the
winter
and
fail
structurally,
resul8ng
in
illnesses
due
to
exposure
to
fecal
macer
and
water
contamina8on
• The
environment
is
polluted
and
inhabitants
are
exposed
to
physical
harm
due
to
latrine
collapse
Completed
compos8ng
toilet
from
2010
pilot
implementa8on
trip

34. Compos8ng
Latrine
Status
• The
first
compos8ng
toilets
are
working
great
• User
acceptance
has
been
high
• Genera8on
and
use
of
compost
for
agricultural
applica8ons
has
been
successful
• The
community
wants
more
units

35. Phase
2
Planning
• A
member
of
the
Alcance
Nicaragua
team
designed
and
built
a
less
expensive
compos8ng
toilet
which
cut
the
cost
by
half
Prototype
reduced
cost
redesigned
toilet

36. Phase
2
Planning
(cont.)
• Goal:
build
fourteen
compos8ng
toilets
in
El
Llanito
community
using
the
new
design
($336/toilet)
• Alcance
Nicaragua
responsibili8es:
materials
procurement
and
transporta8on,
iden8fying
new
beneficiaries,
managing
the
construc8on,
and
collec8ng
beneficiaries’
contribu8on
(40%
of
cost)

37. Phase
2
Planning
(cont.)
• July
2014:
AN
selects
par8cipants
• August
2014:
Material
Procurement
prior
to
construc8on
start
• August
19-­‐August
31:
Construc8on
• Post
Construc8on:
Documenta8on

38. Phase
2
ConstrucIon
Preparing
founda8on

39. Phase
2
ConstrucIon
(cont.)
Concrete
in
founda8on
form

40. Phase
2
ConstrucIon
(cont.)
Building
the
vaults

41. Phase
2
ConstrucIon
(cont.)
Sealing
the
vaults
with
plaster
coat

42. Phase
2
ConstrucIon
(cont.)
Building
the
upper
structure

43. Phase
2
ConstrucIon
(cont.)
Families
with
completed
toilets

44. Families
arer
workshop

45. Next
steps
• The
EWB
team
is
con8nuing
to
raise
funds
to
do
more
compos8ng
toilets
for
the
families
that
need
them
• We
raised
almost
$3k
through
an
IndieGoGo
campaign
• We’ve
applied
for
$7.5k
grant
from
EWB-­‐SFP
chapter
• IBM
has
matching
program
up
to
$5k
–
we’ll
pursue
it
•
Our
Livermore
Rotary
club
and
NGO
partner
are
in
contact
with
Managua
and
Masaya
Nicaragua
Rotary
clubs
to
explore
partnering
on
a
Global
Grant.
I’ve
started
draring
the
applica8on
and
am
talking
with
our
District
5170
Grants
Team
• Our
NGO
partner
met
with
the
president
of
Masaya
Rotary
• Fayeceville
Arkansas
Rotary
also
wants
to
support
our
NGO's
work
in
Nicaragua
and
we
are
exploring
opportuni8es
for
collabora8on
• We
may
be
back
to
seek
your
help
on
the
Global
Grant

46. Hands-­‐on
workshop:
EWB
WCR
Symposium:
UC
Davis
10/25/14
Based
on
A
Sewer
Catastrophe
Companion:
Dry
Toilets
for
Wet
Disasters,
the
field-­‐proven
5-­‐gallon
pail
based
composAng
approach
for
seismic
or
other
emergency
response
situaAons

47. Hands-­‐on
workshop
(cont.)

48. Hands-­‐on
workshop
(cont.)

49. Hands-­‐on
workshop
(cont.)

50. Wrap-­‐up,
Q&A
• Remember
EWB
can
partner
with
Rotary
in
a
variety
of
ways
• Compos8ng
toilets/Dry
Sanita8on:
The
simple
way
to
think
about
this
is
“Don't
poop
in
the
water.”
Ques8ons?
Email
me,
pat@coyles.com,
with
follow
up
ques8ons
and
for
a
copy
of
the
Sewer
Catastrophe
Companion:
Dry
Toilets
for
Wet
Disasters,
the
field-­‐proven
5-­‐gallon
pail
based
composAng
approach
for
seismic
or
other
emergency
response
situaAons
…
or
you
can
find
it
online
at:
hcp://www.portlandoregon.gov/pbem/ar8cle/447707