Capacity building

Training in Nairobi

In 2005 and 2006, working with UN-Habitat in Nairobi, engineers, planners, administrators and entrepreneurs from 14 African countries were trained in the technology and methods of Sulabh sanitation. They came from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In 2011, an independent evaluation of UN-Habitat's Water and Sanitation Trust Fund described the work as innovative and promising, noted a standing arrangement for training local staff in sanitation, and called the partnership valuable for both sides.

Passing on the build

On the ground, the same principle applies. When our South African team installs twin-composter toilets, it passes the construction knowledge to local builders, who can then build household toilets themselves. At Inkanyiso Crèche the team adapted the design to rocky soil with no water or power, and the builders learned how to do it alongside us.

Handing over what we build

We also hand over what we build. In Kabul, the five public complexes are operated and maintained by Kabul Municipality. In Kathmandu, Zonta Club Kathmandu built the Pashupati toilets with this technology and handed them to the Pashupati Area Development Trust to run.

Skills and jobs

In KwaZulu-Natal, the sanitary pad manufacturing unit we are preparing with the Sivananda World Peace Foundation aims to create skills and jobs for local people. It is at an early stage, but it follows the same idea: the know-how, the work and the benefit stay in the community.