: OCEAN Foundation

Water project plans

By Blue Planet Network Posted on Wed 08 Oct 2008, over 15 years ago

Dear Mary and Joan,

Thank you for submitting your profile for review - i look forward to welcoming you into PWX.

Your profile is interesting and the conditions you describe are challenging to work in. Can you please answer the following questions briefly?

1/ What technologies did you learn at the AWWC conference that are useful and applicable?

2/ Can you describe your partnership with PAVE and what is the project funding and your role?

3/ Some details about the PAVE project - is ecosan common in that area or are there challenges in getting it accepted?

Regards,
Rajesh

ps: i input your coordinates into your profile so you are now on the PWX map!
Though your address is confusing.

Also, if you have two email addresses you can create two logins - one for each one of you

Water project plans

By OCEAN Foundation Posted on Fri 10 Oct 2008, over 15 years ago

1. Technologies that we learnt at the AWWC conference were
• Biosand filter.
• Roof catchments ( rain harvesting)
• Ferro cement tank ( rain harvesting)

Joan and I were trained specifically in the Biosand filter group. Other very useful technology was the portable water testing kit which is really easy to use and test the quality of water fro contaminants that is really useful just to check if your water is safe for consumption.

2. Pan African Vision for the Environment, PAVE, is a Nigerian based NGO in Lagos Nigeria; it is based in the southern part of Nigeria. OCEAN has collaborated with PAVE on a number of trainings on water and sanitation related issues. So when PAVE was asked to select a project select in the north central part of Nigeria, where OCEAN is located they recommended us as their local partners. So for this project OCEAN is PAVE’s local on ground implementing partner. The project is to be carried out in phrases and so far we have just started the training for the different target groups involved in the project. The budget will be drawn on activity basis so the budget cost has been estimated at one hundred and eight million Nigerian Naira.

3. Ecological sanitation is a very challenging and touchy issue, most of the training sessions we have had the rural people are actually not comfortable about using human waste as a source of manure or fertilizer. This is actually tied to a lot of cultural and traditional beliefs. Although several of the rural areas and even the urban areas practice open defecation on their farmlands which actually gets used as manure anyway, but they still say ecosan is a hard sell. Their fear is the toxic and other bacteria in the composite waste and the safety to their health handling such material. Areas in the far north of the country already using escosan, however are using ashes from fuel wood which helps to neutralize the waste and make it safe for use without any harmful effects. Our project is a pilot, we are building the toilets for the school and the composite will be used in the school farm and orchard which the project will also be initiating in the school.