10 toilet designs that can actually work in rural India
- Prama Neeraja Ayala
- Feb 27, 2014
- 3 min read
Feb 27, 2014
A recent New York Times op-ed piece creatively titled “Bill Gates can’t build a toilet” by environmentalist and founder of Toilets For People, Jason Kass, says this about the Gates Foundation project to build toilets in rural areas:
“The Gates Foundation has treated the quest to find the proper solution as it would a cutting-edge project at Microsoft: lots of bells and whistles, sky-high budgets and engineers in elite institutions experimenting with the newest technologies, thousands of miles away from their clients.” Rural sanitation is more than just building a toilet, but even that first step can be ineffective if it does not take into account relevant factors.
The Government of India spends 7000 crores a year just to build toilets, but it is true that the toilets commissioned to be built scarcely take into account the local conditions or cultures, are unaffordable despite the subsidy and often fall into disuse. Toilet designs need to factor in several conditions – from geography to water and culture – for them to be usable and viable. An India Water Portal study, for example, points to the fact that even popular low-cost toilets like pit latrines could lead to adverse environmental impact besides propagating manual scavenging, a human rights battle India has been fighting for over 5 decades.
Gramalaya has been constructing toilets in rural India for over 2 and a half decades now and lists the following conditions as factors to be taken into account for toilets to become household and community-friendly:
• Affordability • Space in the home • Geographical conditions – soil/water table etc • Cultural habits • Availability of water/scarcity of water • Availability of skilled or semi skilled manpower
In the battle for better sanitation for 600 million Indians who defecate in the open, a toilet that is well designed is a critical aspect.
Here’s a look at toilet designs that can suit rural India:
1. Plinth level toilet with temporary superstructure
This is one of the simplest designs and it is best suited where space is a constraint. It is quite easy to empty filled pits, can be constructed within a day and cost investment is definitely on the lower side. The total cost of construction comes to about Rs. 1500. Superstructure can be made from locally available materials such as banana leaves, bamboo sticks and gunny bags. It can be a simple solution for sanitation around festival places and during emergencies. Estimated cost of 1 toilet: Rs. 1500
2. Toilet only model with hollow bricks
The superstructure here is made of hollow bricks. This model is suitable for all purposes, it is comparatively low cost and is most suitable where space is limited. Estimated cost of 1 toilet: Rs. 5500
3. Toilet attached bathroom (w/ hollow bricks and no roof)
A multifunctional low cost structure, this toilet and bathroom design accommodates provision for water storage, bathing and washing facilities inside the toilet. Additionally, using water waste for kitchen garden is possible and most importantly it provides privacy for ablution, especially keeping in mind women and adolescent girls. Estimated cost of 1 toilet: Rs. 7257
4. Toilet only model (w/ concrete rings pit and roof)
It is a low cost design, especially suited for small areas, and provides privacy and safeguards during rainy season. Estimated cost of 1 toilet: Rs. 6875
5. Twin pit – Pour flush latrine
Slightly larger space may be needed to construct this toilet but the cost is still low. Having two pits is certainly an advantage as when the first pit gets filled up, the flow of excreta has to be diverted to the second pit. In this design, two leach pits are connected to one single pour-flush toilet. Twin-pit toilets have a high convenience – when emptying one pit, people use second pit. Estimated cost of 1 toilet: Rs. 7257
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