Understanding the Price: the Push for Economic Biodiversity
(photography credit theguardian.com)
The question of putting a price tag on planet earth has been a topic of discussion over the last few years, as we grapple with how to address the global impacts of climate change. On a planet where distribution of environmentally beneficial resources (like the Amazon rainforest) is vastly different among countries, how do we ...
Better, Cheaper, Faster: Researching Ways to Improve SOIL’s Composting Process
Over the last six months, SOIL has made exciting and significant progress in expanding access to dignified and reliable sanitation for vulnerable communities in Haiti. In order to continue on this upward trend, we at SOIL are working hard to produce innovative approaches to support our growth strategy to accommodate more households on the service and the additional increase in waste to treat.
To help with our strategy, we are once again partnering with Human Centered Design experts, Lukas Baumgartner and Jojo Linder, consultants from Kreativ Konsum and Kompotoi. The ...
Meet Djimitri, SOIL’s Director of Operations
SOIL’s Director of Operations, Djimitri Célestin, growing directly out of Konpòs Lakay bags mixed with soil.
We recently sat down with Djimitri Célestin, SOIL’s Director of Operations, to learn more about him, his connection to SOIL, and his lovely garden in Cap Haitien, where he grows vegetables using SOIL's Konpòs Lakay. Djimitri has been a part of the SOIL family since 2019. A condensed version of his interview follows. We hope you enjoy getting to know Djimitri, as much as we enjoy working with him!
Tell us about yourself and how you came to work with ...
SOIL and CBSA Study: Comparing Costs of Urban Sanitation Solutions
With more than four billion people still lacking access to safe sanitation globally, we know that it’s going to take a multitude of innovative solutions to successfully tackle a crisis of this proportion. A one-size-fits-all solution to the global sanitation crisis is not realistic, instead focusing on expanding access to safe sanitation that meets the need of the local context is likely the most impactful way forward. But, for so long, the data necessary to successfully operate a localized approach has been inaccessible, incomplete, and challenging to compare. Thus, it ...
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 ...
