ECOSAN plan: getting dual benefits of recycling nutrients and water conservation by ECOSAN Team of Nepal

Hi Thakur Pandit, You have a very interesting concept. This can be a major breakthrough and a stepping ladder to something of great value. However, we would like you to complete your proposal. In the interest of time with only 36 day left, please do not miss out on this wonderful opportunity to present your plan to our esteemed audience. If you need help, please reach out to me or other catalysts/fellows for helping you out. Regards Abhik Tayal MIT Climate Co-Lab catalyst

Dear Thakur, As a Climate Co-lab Fellow for the Waste Management Contest, I would like to thank you for your participation and submission. You have an interesting concept, particularly with regard to your scaling up model, using demonstration and resource centers. This is the kind of innovation needed for long-term sustainability. It would be great if you could flesh out some of the details of your proposal. After a quick review, I have a few questions and comments that you may consider looking at while finalizing your proposal. 1. It is unclear what the actual product or approach is. What is Ecosan? It is not clearly explained. Is it waste a collection methodology? Does it include infrastructure? Is it a technology? Please include these details. 2. How are carbon emissions reduced through this project? In the section of the proposal related to this, I see you have mentioned that carbon emissions are saved through the lack of production and transport of chemical fertilizers? However, as you may know - methane is produced from composting. Have you done any calculations of the various emission savings and new emissions from this technology/approach? 3. With regard to sustainability and scaling up, it would be interesting to know what the costs of the Ecosan system/model is. How do you expect private sector to play a role? Is there a profitable business model that can be developed with the Ecosan approach? Is there demand for the product, and if so - by who? Who would be the target market? I hope that these questions are of use and may provide some guidance on proposal development. Good luck! Best Regards, Ujala

Hello Thakur, A very good initiative you have here but you did not mention the amount in volume of the resources that you expect to collect in the different district, the means of collection and the collection point. Kindly consider these points when you are providing additional information. Regards, Arese

Dear Mr. Thakur, It would be great if you could incorporate issues related to laboratory research in connection with this proposal. Regards, Kamal

Dear All, I would like to invite members to comment on this important proposal which has a real plan to transform rural Nepal by providing a great opportunity to see, learn and practice ECOSAN benefits at an individual and household level. It will help to protect our rural environment from pollution and public health problems faced due to hap hazard disposal of household effluents. The project will become a landmark event in the history of Nepal's sanitation movement. The project will be developed into the ECOSAN movement and will eventually trigger our policy makers and development agencies to come up with their own action plans at every district. Let's support the ECOSAN Plan to get funded and make it a national campaign with momentum to boost this country's ongoing sanitation development plan. We can make the History! The ECOSAN Team of Nepal will contribute with its best efforts to make this happen! Best regards, Thakur (adaptnepal).

A nice proposal. Certainly worthwhile to promote conservation of resources and reuse in agriculture. In Chitwan, ecosan has already been trialled, so further extension into this agricultural district is useful. District agricultural office is also supportive. As Chitwan is central and many people pass there on their way to Kathmandu, it is a good location for further demonstration and promotion. 1. As Chitwan district is already declared an Open Defecation Free (ODF) district, it would be good to position Ecosan as a post-ODF strategy. Alternatively other nearby districts (Bara, Parsa) where sanitation coverage is still limited could be used as demonstration site. 2. Though the proposal deals with resource recovery in waste management and reduction of emissions, the background for the project should be reflected somewhere. Ecosan is an attractive option for introducing safe sanitation in communities, as it combines health protection with economic benefits for the producer/user. In my opinion it is imperative to mention in the project that household sanitation promotion is the primary reason for Government and NGOs but that sustainability and 'green' approaches to human waste management are critical and can be incorporated in the Nepal context, provided demonstration, promotion and technical assistance is available.

Dear Thakur, The idea you have developed is great to promote ECOSAN in Nepal. I found an article on ECOSAN in Nepal ( http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=79121) and may be interesting for you too. I suggest you to contact Mr. Shreendra Pokhreal and include him as a contributor. All the best !!!

Hi all, This is a very nice initiative towards environmental sanitation and waste management. On one hand collection and proper utilization of the wastes contribute a healthy environment and on the other hand, the waste will be directly converted to money as it can replace the application of other fertilizer as well as by increased productivity. Nepalese people will be greatly benefited this work. Good Luck!

As a member of the current ECOSAN initiative, I would like to respond to the concern raised by Tengeya.

Dear all, First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to those who have shown great interest in this topic which has created a wave of concerns and discussions that will eventually support to improve the proposal at its detail preparation stage. We are also thankful to Mr. Tengeya who has raised the concern on how the ECOSAN contributes to reduce the GHG. In this regard, Dr. Keshav's response as the team member is very supportive and clear. In addition to his comment, I would like to add the following: In the past, we had also reviewed several papers, reports and articles published at the local and international level. We found that the ECOSAN is already proven technology for utilization of the nutrient rich resources to close the loop agriculture – human - agriculture. So far the reduction in emission of GHG from ECOSAN is concerned, there are several studies already conducted in the developed country contexts including in China. Below are some examples of the reports and links thereto for reference purpose: 1. Anaerobic waste decomposition and methane emissions: the paper indicates that the pit latrines produce methane gas in the anaerobic condition of sewage and sludge. There is also some calculation with estimations for regional level. The link to the paper is: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es501549h The paper has clearly mentioned about competitive advantage of composting options (in the ECOSAN technology) over the pit latrines which apply conventional anaerobic sludge digestion process. 2. ECOSAN combats climate change: this is an ongoing research held in Haiti and its outcomes will be very important for the ECOSAN interested professionals. The research expects to reveal facts and figures how much there is reduction of GHG (methane) in the conventional (anaerobic sludge model) versus composting options (ECOSAN). The link to the publication is: http://www.oursoil.org/ecosan-combats-climate-change/ 3. Ecological-economic assessment of ecological sanitation development in the cities of Chinese Loess Plateau: This is a comparative empirical research conducted in China with clearly observed results in favor of ECOSAN technology to reduce the GHG emissions. The link to the research report is: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1476945X09000919 4. Sustainability and Climate Change aspects of Ecosan Toilet in the Nepal’s context: The paper has introduced some information on Nepal’s context in the development of ECOSAN. In addition to that the author (Mr. N.R. Khatri) has shown calculations on how much carbon emission can be reduced by using urine and composted fecal solids. According to the author, altogether 107 kg of carbon emission (supposed to be GHG in terms of equivalent carbon emission) per person per tear can be avoided by applying the ECOSAN technology. The link to the paper is: http://www.huussi.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Nam_Raj_Khatri.pdf Considering the conclusions from the above cited documents and findings, the project will also aim to conduct a comprehensive review of the literature on ECOSAN, its benefits in terms of reducing GHG emissions to combat the climate change. There is also needed to involve the research community in the piloting phase with demonstration sites as proposed in the villages of Chitwan district. These considerations will be incorporated in the detail proposal stage. Best Regards, Thakur

Dear all, Thank you for your valuable comments and suggestion regarding the project concept on 'ECOSAN plan: getting dual benefits of recycling nutrients and water conservation'. In general the issues raise are whether the ECOSAN helps to limit green house gas emission. A number of studies reveal that it can limit green house gas emission. The ECOSAN approach has been implemented in many parts of the world. A numbers of studies have been carried out regarding the contribution of ECOSAN to prevent greenhouse gas emission and economic benefits. Khatri (2013) presented that ECOSAN toilets contribute to supply of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and potassium to soil, which indirectly contributes to avoid 107 kg carbon emission /person/year. Jhou et al. (2009) examined three sanitation models including ECOSAN. They revealed that ECOSAN is relatively higher avoider of greenhouse gas emission, lesser water polluter, lesser health risk contributor and also relatively cheaper in installation. Moreover, Reid et al. (2014) showed that an alternative to Pit Latrine, which is similar to ECOSAN concept, reduces the emission of Methane gas sufficiently and also ensures the hygienic sanitation. Thus, this approach is good for limiting green house gas emission and good for pollution control. However, studies showed varied results in different locations. Thus, the project will be more science based as well as more convincing if it can incorporate two study components. For example, (1) study on effect of human urine and decomposed fecal matter on agriculture productivity focusing to Chitwan district of Nepal and (2) study on limiting effect of ECOSAN on green house gas emission. Thank you Kind regards

The project will be milestone to solve the real problems of people. The key features of this project are the conversion of unused solid wastes into the valuable organic manure, water conservation, sanitation and at the same time reduction of GHG from the soil. Thus, the findings of this project will be guideline for the management of waste resources through multidisciplinary approach. Regards, Babu Ram Khanal

Dear All, As an employee of the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS), I am directly involved in implementing the Sanitation and Hygiene master Plan 2011, formulating strategic plan at national and sub-national levels, conducting capacity development activities for both policy and program level stakeholders and scaling up innovative sectoral learning. Hence, I will facilitate to link up ECOSAN initiatives with the planning frameworks of the ongoing total sanitation initiatives in the country taking in to account the post-ODF activities, Environment Friendly Local Governance Framework and the Clean City Program of the Government of Nepal. In the existing policies and strategies of DWSS, ECOSAN technology is well accepted and considered appropriate for promotion in rural and semi-urban areas in Nepal. The technology should be promoted at household level based on exiting learning from districts. The proposed ECOSAN plan has reflected the institutional capacity gaps in the existing program of the sector stakeholders. In addition, it will help maintain sustainability by integrating sanitation with livelihood at very grass root levels directly benefiting the farmers. The ECOSAN technology thus proposed has benefits the users in manifold ways: a) it helps minimize the consumption of water which is being declined due to climate change, b) it helps reduce emission of Methane gas thus contributing to mitigate the climate change. c) use of urine and composted faeces will be utilized in farms yielding quality organic products and reducing investment for chemical fertilizer. As a team member of the ECOSAN initiative, I am committed to support for project design and implementation in coordination with DWSS, concerned Government agencies, WASH Coordination Committees, researchers and all well wishers of ECOSAN. Thank you very much for your good faith and support. Kamal Adhikari Sociologist Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Government of Nepal

Hi Team I know that this is going to be a successful undertaking. Having lived in the rural area here in South Africa, I experienced first-hand the benefits of the human waste. The pit latrines people used, were normally given two years after being covered when full, then the soil around the area would be harvested and used as manure for the fields. The Ecosan Nepal will surely benefit the primary stakeholders (farming community). The economic benefits derived from improved sanitation include health and environmental benefits, as well as those which are associated to excreta reuse. The latter is modeled by taking into account the volume of excreta, the mass of nutrients produced, and the monetary value of increased crop yields. Please check this link for extra information. www.ewisa.co.za Thank you for raising your hands to be counted Regards Busisiwe Skosana

Thank your for submitting a proposal into the Climate CoLab. The Judges thought this was a very strong and inspirational proposal, and believe, with a little work, it could be a very strong presentation. In your revisions, we would like to discuss what kind of technology you intend to use to capture the human waste. There are many different models out there and we would like to see a drawing and discussion of what ECOSAN intends to use. Your discussion of the communities and the number of people impacted is well thought out and very clear. We were especially taken with the idea of using ECOSAN at the household level. However, we would also need to see how the waste will be handled when using it as fertilizer -- there are many important regulations regarding the usage of human waste as fertilizer. Finally, we would also like to see you address what we in the "waste world" informally call the "ick factor." Is this population comfortable using their own waste to grow food, and if so, why are they comfortable? Most of the communities where we work simply cannot get beyond the "ick factor."

Dear Hemant, Thank you very much for so excellent suggestion. Of course, we will go through the idea while spreading the message and promotional and deminstration events in the villages. Best regards, Thakur

Dear Thakur ji, Please keep on your effort. It is a good and practicable idea. We are with you. Mohan Karkee

Good luck with this project. I would be glad to offer advice to help resolve any problems you may encounter during execution. One thing to remember is that 90% of the fertilizer is in the urine, which constitutes nearly no health risk when dispersed on the soil. Essentially all the pathogens are in the feces, so there may be more resistence to fertilizing with these. One thing you may like to experiment with is the use of dried and decomposed feces as cover material for the new feces. This inoculates them with beneficial soil microbes that broke down the feces in the previous cycle and no one ever needs to worry about pathogens being set loose into the open environment. Also, if people are concerned about the potential for contact with pathogens with adding cover material, this will remind them to wash their hands, which we wanted them to do anyway (plus we know that if the feces have been treated properly, via heat, composting and/or long storage, there are no significant pathogens). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2sPbBoliSo In general, I suggest exploring with the users different options for implementing UDDTs, rather than presenting them as a set item. You could even make charcoal from the feces, like Sanivation. Please let me know if I can help. Best wishes, Chris Canaday http://inodoroseco.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-dry-toilet-as-weapon-to-fight.html

That's good and indeed one of the matter of immense need in Nepal. Especially, when we look for promoting low cost options with big results. I will be assisting as much as I can.

Dear Climate Colab Team and Valued Voters, On behalf of the ECOSAN Team of Nepal as the proponent of the ECOSAN proposal, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to all those who have voted in our favor and encouraged and supported us to disseminate the information. Thanks to the networking of the team members and sanitation professionals in country and abroad, the proposal has received so many supporters and well-wishers. We are thankful to all the 53 supporters and 700+ valued voters. We highly appreciate to the Climate Colab team for selection of our proposal us up to this position. The votes we have obtained clearly indicates that we are competent to successfully implement the ECOSAN Project in Nepal. We have also highly professional confidence on our management and technical capabilities to generate the knowledge through this project and collaborate with concerned stakeholders to achieve the expected outputs. I wish Climate Colab Initiative all the success.