 What we do |
Pooling ideas
WaterAid and its partners are always looking for new, cost effective and appropriate technologies that will not only help people gain access to a safe water supply and sanitation but which will also be easy to maintain and will last long into the future. Persuading people to try out a new, or different technology, that they may not have heard of or seen before, can sometimes be a difficult task. However, in the Mpigi district of Uganda WaterAid's partner Bucadef's approach to promoting composting latrines and rainwater harvesting is now winning them national acclaim. Bucadef have found that by engaging the well respected and influential members of a community first they will share the successes of a project and the results are likely to spread among others too. One such person is 84 year old Paul Kiteke Bazibumbira who, with the help of Bucadef, has constructed a composting latrine, which recycles human waste as a rich compost, and a rainwater harvesting tank to collect clean rain water from his roof. He now talks to community members about each of these schemes and demonstrates how each works and the benefits that each one brings. Paul's banana trees are now grown using compost from his new latrine and he is so enthusiastic about composting latrines he has even been interviewed for Ugandan TV and newspapers on their use: "It is very useful and the toilet is easy to construct," he explains. "It keeps our kitchen clean as we use the ash from the stoves in the toilet. Because it has two holes, I use one hole and close it when it is full and use the second hole. By the time the second hole is full the material in the first hole can be removed and taken to our gardens and used as a fertiliser. I feel this is very useful." By working with people like Paul, Bucadef have been praised by the government for their contribution to improving sanitation and many more composting latrines are being constructed across Mpigi. |
||||
|
|
|
