Providing Dignified Sanitation Using Mobile Tech
As we continue to grow and expand our services in Haiti, we recognize the need to keep improving our operational efficiency. The SOIL team is continuously researching and testing new ways to provide better and more efficient sanitation solutions. Covid-19 created unprecedented challenges to organizations like ours, that rely on community field agents to provide goods and services to vulnerable populations in emerging markets. Thanks to the TaroWorks mobile field service app, we’ve been able to provide uninterrupted sanitation services to the communities we serve in ...
Executive Director, Dr. Sasha Kramer Represents SOIL at Latin America and Caribbean Finance Ministers’ Meeting
Graphic courtesy of Sanitation and Water for All
In November, SOIL Co-Founder and Executive Director Dr. Sasha Kramer represented SOIL and the private sector at the 2020 annual Latin America and the Caribbean Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) hosted by Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), a collaborative partnership of governments and stakeholders in civil society, the private sector, United Nations agencies, research and learning institutions, development banks and the donor community. Sanitation and Water for All works at country, regional and global levels to ...
Debunking Urban Sanitation Myths
Around the globe, an estimated 4.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation (UNICEF, 2018); meaning human waste goes untreated with the potential to contaminate precious water resources and the environment. The magnitude of the sanitation crisis is extreme and exposure to untreated and poorly managed waste can have a devastating impact on public health and the environment. In Haiti, a country where just 1% of all waste is safely treated, the lack of access to safely managed sanitation means far too many people die of preventable waterborne disease. Every ...
Bòn Fèt Endependans!
photo courtesy of Melinda Miles
On this day 217 years ago, Haiti became a free nation after years of fighting against colonial oppression. The fire that ignited this revolutionary defiance against injustice still burns today. Every January 1st we celebrate Haitian Independence Day to honor the symbolic and hard-fought independence of the nation of Haiti; it’s beauty, rich culture, and the strength and perseverance of its people. As we reflect on the bravery and courage of Haiti’s revolutionary heroes, we are even more motivated to build a resilient future in Haiti ...
Client Story: Meet Augulia Cemeran
SOIL client, Augulia Cemeran at 2020 World Toilet Day event.
If you’re one of the 3.3 million people living in urban Haiti who does not have a toilet, you have very few options available to you. Haitian cities, like many rapidly growing urban areas globally, have no sewer system. Flush toilets are expensive and mostly unaffordable for impoverished households in that they require a costly septic tank, a steady supply of water, and are not always suitable for high water table areas. A more common option, pit latrines, are also expensive to construct, susceptible to ...
Sanitation is a Human Right
photo courtesy of Vic Hinterlang
Every December 10th we celebrate Human Rights Day, to acknowledge and raise awareness for the ongoing struggle to achieve the universal and inalienable rights we are all entitled to. As an organization that is motivated by a mission to increase access to sanitation for vulnerable populations, we firmly believe in the fundamental right to human dignity as a driving force for change. In the absence of dignity we simply cannot drive true change. Access to sanitation is not only intricately tied to human dignity, but is also recognized by ...
Celebrate World Soil Day!
photo courtesy of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Agriculture is Haiti’s main industry and makes up over 60% of the workforce nationwide. However, food production can be quite challenging for many farmers in Haiti due to heavily degraded soils as a result of exploitative production like deforestation and over-intensive agricultural practices during the colonial era. Before farmers are able to support the growth of bountiful harvests or reforestation initiatives, degraded soils need to be restored and brought back to a natural balance. ...
2x the Impact on Giving Tuesday
Every day SOIL’s team is fighting to provide access to lifesaving sanitation services that defend against disease, nurture local economies, and help combat malnutrition. In the face of a persistent political crisis in Haiti, the need for holistic and durable community-based solutions is more urgent than ever before. This Giving Tuesday, we’re excited to launch a matching donation drive to DOUBLE the impact of your generosity. Your support is critical as we work to cultivate a more resilient future for vulnerable communities bearing the burden of waterbo...
A Vision for the Future: The Circular Economy Model
In 2006, SOIL began working to provide safe, dignified access to in-home sanitation in Haiti, through our EkoLakay toilet service. Since then, the situation in Haiti, and the world at large, has become increasingly complicated. The dread of climate change has become an indisputable reality, exacerbating preexisting vulnerabilities, including the global sanitation crisis. Both the impacts of climate change and the pressing need to find sustainable solutions that make our planet and people more resilient have helped to frame SOIL’s model. Since its founding, SOIL has ...
SOIL’s 2020 Annual Report
We are very excited to share with you our Annual Report for the 2019-2020 year. It has been an unprecedented year of challenges, innovation and progress toward providing essential sanitation services in Haiti. We are grateful for all of the incredible support we have received this year and hope you take the opportunity to read through what we have been able to achieve together and what SOIL's vision is for the future. Please check it out by downloading a copy or scrolling through below: Want to read more? See past annual reports from SOIL here. Support ...