Dunga Wetlands ProjectDunga Wetlands Project |
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Mike Skuja posted an update:
Big thanks to all our donors! We're making great progress -- we're almost two thirds of the way there. Lets keep it going, don't forget to tell your fellow hippo-lovers.
Emily Boone became a supporter
Emily Boone donated $25
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About
Eco-San toilets convert human waste into fertilizer, improving crop yields for local small scale farmers. When the crop production is better, farmers don’t have to move into the fertile wetlands areas. That is a good thing, because these areas already host a local community of hippos, an increasingly vulnerable species that is not always so welcoming to new neighbors.
Of farmers and hippos
The Otieno family lives and works next to the Dunga Wetlands, on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. (Click on the video for more from two members of the Otieno family.) The Dunga Wetlands are also home to a healthy population of hippopotami. These wetlands provide some of the most fertile soil around, and so small-scale farmers, like the Otienos, expand into the wetlands, and into hippo territory, looking for stronger crop yields and more secure livelihoods. But, this situation brings the farmer into contact with the hippo, a territorial and temperamental animal. These encounters usually don’t end well for anyone, with hippos raiding and destroying crops, and farmers retaliating. What we need here is a new kind of toilet.
Yup, a toilet
Ecologically sanitary, or “Eco-San,” toilets convert human waste into fertilizer, allowing farmers to grow stronger crops on their existing land. Farmers currently using Eco-San toilets report tripled crop yields. When small-scale farms are more productive, they don’t need to move into hippo territory. Additionally, these toilets are far more sanitary than the pit latrines currently in use, which contaminate drinking water and contribute to the incidence of water-borne diseases in the area. The Eco-San toilet does not require any water, but instead mixes human waste with ash, which after several months can be safely used as fertilizer. Farmers get better crops and better health, hippos get fewer farmers in their territory, and everyone lives happily.
What is needed
This campaign is seeking $950 to help the Otieno family – consisting of 9 people across 3 generations – purchase an Eco-San toilet. Ecofinder Kenya has consulted with the community, which determined through a democratic process that the Otienos would make good use of this technology. And the Otieno family itself has volunteered to contribute 10% of the cost, in the form of raw building materials for the local masons to use in constructing the toilet. Your contributions will cover the remaining costs of the toilet.
One toilet at a time
This technology, combined with Ecofinder Kenya’s environmental education programs, reduces the need for farmers to push into hippo territory just to make a living. If, by chance, the funds raised surpass what is needed for the Otieno family’s Eco-San toilet, surplus funds will go towards building additional Eco-San toilets for other families and supporting Ecofinder Kenya to continue this work. So please give whatever you can – your contribution is greatly appreciated!
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