Beacon Ahead Institute and our team members (as consultants to other NGOs) have worked on two main kinds of sanitation projects:
- Earthworm-composting sewage treatment and
- Pre-cast Panel Toilets.
These are described below.
After seeing the great results of these two Sanitation projects (below), Beacon AHEAD Institute developed a toilet based on combining these two projects: the Beacon Earthworm Sewage Treatment (BEST) toilet:
1. Low-cost, environmentally-friendly toilets based on worm-composting technologies:
This project was a collaboration with PATH, PriMove and Shelter Associates, to create a compact toilet that could be installed in homes in urban slums.
In slums, the community toilets can be very challenging to use. The lack of safety, access, clean water, maintenance, etc. can prevent people from using these toilets. Many community toilets are too small for the number of people who need to use them, so they may have to queue up to use the toilet for an hour or more each morning.
To learn more about the challenges that people face, due to lack of toilets, and to see our YouTube videos, please click the links below:
Worm-composting Toilets – Documentary – Short version
Worm-composting Toilets – Documentary – Long version
2. Pre-cast Concrete, Low-cost, strong toilets for homes in India:
In projects with PATH and Population Services International (PSI), we developed a pre-cast, modular structure for toilets.
This toilet can be made from reinforced cement concrete (RCC), and can be quickly assembled in 4 hours, and used the next day.
Earlier toilets, made of brick and mortar, could take 10 days to build and cure on-site.
The pre-cast parts can add significant quality improvements, as well as new features for safety, convenience and hygiene.
The Rapido toilets in Bihar, for example, included a water tank, shelves for placing mobile phones and soap, etc., a cubby hole for storing menstrual hygiene materials, and handles on the side walls to assist children, elderly people and anyone with illness or disability.
