EcoSan
Currently, only 16% of rural Haitians and 50% of those in cities have access to adequate sanitation facilities, by far the lowest coverage in the Western Hemisphere.
People are forced to find other ways to dispose of their wastes, often in the ocean, rivers, ravines, plastic bags, or abandoned houses. At the same time, agricultural output is low due to poor soil fertility, soil erosion and lack of fertilizers.
Ecological sanitation (EcoSan) is a low-cost approach to sanitation where human wastes are collected, composted and recycled for use in agriculture and reforestation. It simultaneously addresses many of Haiti’s most pressing issues: improving public health, increasing agricultural productivity, mitigating environmental degradation, and providing low-cost sanitation.
A child and his mom visit a SOIL EcoSan toilet at the Delmas 3 refugee camp in Port-au-Prince
Toilets
SOIL’s ecological sanitation (EcoSan) toilets are currently providing essential sanitation services to over 20,000 people living in the camps of people displaced by the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and over 50,000 people living in communities throughout northern Haiti and in Cap-Haitien.
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SOIL's waste treatment compost site in the Delmas 33 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince
Compost
SOIL is committed, not only to providing safe sanitation, but also to safely treating human waste through the process of composting. SOIL is currently transforming over 5,000 gallons of human excreta per week into rich compost critical for agriculture and reforestation.
Learn MoreWant to build your own EcoSan toilet? Check out the SOIL's Guide to EcoSan...
A SOIL toilet in the Kago community of Port-au-Prince
Interested in building your own EcoSan toilet or compost system? Check out The SOIL Guide to Ecological Sanitation or join SOIL staff at one of our regular trainings and tours in Port-au-Prince.
