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How can we improve sanitation and better manage human waste in low-income urban communities? Read the challenge brief

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Realisation

Ghanasan's Design Deliverable

May 18, 2011, 04:04PM


The Ghanansan team at IDEO has been hard at work — taking everything we learned during our OpenIDEO Sanitation Challenge and prototyping various sanitation solutions out in the field. But their work hasn’t stopped there!

As you can see from their latest deliverable, the Ghanasan folks have developed some clear recommendations around the type of product to sell (in this case, an in-home toilet), the service model to use, and even the brand positioning for this new waste collection system in Ghana.

We hope you enjoy reading through their report. Stay tuned to the Realisation phase for more updates, including an interview with members of the Ghanasan team!

Comments

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Carla

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December 04, 2011, 02:11PM
Hi Ghanasan team. This is a great concept. Can you tell me more about the business model for the service franchise? I work in social marketing for health and one of my biggest headaches is establishing end-user cost. People are not truthful in response to willingness-to-pay questions and this becomes even harder for new products for which there was no previous market. I live in Haiti, where NGOs have built latrines after the earthquake like they're going out of style. The problem now is who will be responsible for dredging and solid waste management. We are throwing around the idea of a social franchise for this service but I'm concerned that NGOs are more invested in latrines than Haitians - will people be willing to pay for dredging or will they go back to open defecation when their pit fills up?
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Jason Wong

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May 24, 2011, 07:22PM
Bio wastes need to be treated and decomposed in effluent ponds, which could result in the production of methane gas. However, this gas needs to be processed first before it can be fed into gas-propelled electric generators. As far as I know, many of the palm oil mills in Malaysia are slowly but surely tapping into the potential of supplementing its operations with bio-gas that is discharging from the effluent ponds. The question here is, how much methane gas can be produced from decomposed human wastes as compared to decomposed palm oil sludge?

Ghana is also a palm oil producer and exporter. Could there be a possibility to combine both palm oil sludge and human wastes together have them biologically/organically decompose in producing methane gas, without the need to chemically treat the human wastes first? To date, Bangladesh has already implemented a sustainable solution in waste management for areas that are rural, poor, and highly inaccessible to proper sanitation systems. Learning from them may help in this challenge's realisation.
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Sean Corriel's reply to Carla 's comment

Sean Corriel

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November 23, 2011, 05:18AM
Very cool. Sanitation is a huge problem in Ghana, and this solution bypasses waiting for the government/municipalities to provide critical infrastructural connections - sewer hookups to areas that do not have it. Those who can afford the service don't have to wait. The customer feedback says a lot about the reception Ghanaians have to the project and it seems very encouraging. Certainly it seems to improve their lifestyle.

Much of the solid waste stream in Accra and other coastal cities/towns ends up going straight to the ocean (which is not uncommon - cities in the US still do it) so at a large scale this solution can redirect the waste stream towards more sustainable flows. Fishing is also a main part of the diet...

I also like how the project provides employment opportunities in an economy where there aren't enough, and appreciate how the uniforms and branding dignify the business. Most encouraging is if the pilot can become a profitable business for locals to own and operate.

Fertilizer is a big expense for farmers - it would be great to hear more about how that side of the project is developing. Have partners been found who can use the fertilizer? How do the waste treatment chemicals affect its use as fertilizer? Can it be distributed to local partners to minimize transportation costs?
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Sai Bhaskar Reddy Nakka

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November 12, 2011, 03:48AM
This a very good concept of valuing the byproducts rather looking as just waste.
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Susan Buckwalter

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October 15, 2011, 07:43PM
Amazing work! Creating local delivery franchises generates job with low training requirements, thus open to a wide range of workers. Does this plan also include opportunities for workers at the energy plant to gain management experience or technical skills? If so, then this project not only manages waste and creates sustainable energy solutions, it serves to employ and empower local workers.
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Joana Amoako

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August 01, 2011, 12:31PM
I am so impressed and looking forward to the realisation of this concept. A lot of human waste is being disposed of into the waterbodies in Ghana.
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