Promoting ecological sanitation:sharing NKKD WATSAN experiences

During a visit to the Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) in North Wales in 2006, the technology that particularly inspired the author was the ecological sanitation latrine (Ecosan), as having a potentially useful application in the rural areas of SW Uganda. The first task was to turn CAT's demonstration latrine into live application in SW Uganda, to prove Ecosan technology there. Several Ecosan latrine installations have already been constructed by NKKD WATSAN Project, and are now in use. These include an indoor “Twin-Pit” toilet unit in the Diocesan offices, Rukungiri. For an ecological latrine to work, two aspects are of key importance: liquid/solid separation, and venting. Conventional approaches to sanitation (traditional pit latrines or long drops) still pose health and environmental risks to the population. Ecological sanitation latrines are completely free of environmental pollution and the water table is safe.