sanitation

Today I had a quick chat with Ashoka-Lemelson fellow Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization. The WTO is committed to delivering healthier and safer sanitation around the world.

He talked about where he sees his organization going. Now that they've perfected a means of delivering toilets to those who need them, Jack wants to use that system to offer a platform for delivering numerous BOP products and services. Note: This video contains slang for and frank discussion of sewage.

Showing my nonprofit background, I asked Jack what he sees as the role of NGOs in the informational campaign he describes. Is this the sort of area where NGOs and social enteprises can partner with each other. Jack's wonderfully direct answer: "Yes, of course, but it's even better if it's a social enterprise and a social enterprise partnering with each other."

"The charity model," Jack said, "is, 'Prove to me that you are useless, helpless, and worthless, and I will show my great generosity in helping you.'"

See this older post for more on how Jack makes toilets sexy.

We're excited to announce the very first episode of the AshokaTECH Podcast!  Join Host Alex Budak as he interviews Ashoka Fellows and Changemakers from around the world, discussing the ways in which they are leveraging technology for the social good.  The interviews bring you even closer to inspiring social entrepreneurs  as they discuss their big ideas, best practices for engaging in social enterprise, as well as tips and advice for budding social entrepreneurs.  In bringing you as close to these leaders as possible, make sure to follow Alex on Twitter, @TheBudak, where you'll have the opportunity to submit questions for future interviews, and transform the podcast into a two-way communication in this cutting-edge field. 

The first episode features an interview with Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow, and founder of the World Toilet Organization, Jack Sim.  Jack joined the podcast from Singapore, and discussed the work he is doing to bring attention to sanitation issues worldwide, as well as his personal motto: "live a useful life."  Along the way, Jack gives discusses how he mobilized a multinational coalition around sanitation issues, and tells listeners how they can participate in "World Toilet Day, 2009," which is today, November 19!

This post contributed by Mindy Zhang.

Last month, I met Jack Sim, Singaporean social entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow. His organization, the World Toilet Organization, promotes basic sanitation in developing countries through market-based solutions. According to Jack, one of the major barriers to improving sanitation is consumer perception. Base-of-pyramid consumers simply don’t see toilets as valuable additions to their lives – and therefore don’t bother to invest in them, even when they have enough money to spend. “This is very clear when they have radios, TVs, handphones – and no toilets.”

How did the WTO overcome this challenge? A mix of great product design and sharp business acumen, Jack said. He talked about three pieces of the sanitation puzzle:

Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow Jack Sim says many of the poorest own mobile phones and even TVs but not toilets. Why is this?

He found that the toilet is simply not appealing to this consumer. Partly because in the poorest areas, the infrastucture behind the toilet's waste (or shall I say, the person's waste) is not there.  So the toilets become stinky and have swarming flies all over them. With toilets like these, I don't blame people for not having one at home.

His solution: "There are 2.5 billion people in the world without access to proper sanitation. Sanitation issues can be much better resolved by using market mechanism instead of relying on donations".

While he is increasing the local capacity to install toilets and to treat the waste so that it does not become smelly or hazardous to health, he is also rebranding toilets to make them a "lifestyle" commodity--fashionable and cool--something that every person would be proud to own.

Have questions for Jack? Join the conversation on our online group.

You can also learn more about his organization, the World Toilet Organization on the video below.

Each week we feature an Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow on our online group. For the next two weeks we will be featuring Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Association. The topic: Jack wants to restructure the field of sanitation worldwide. Providing humanity with clean, safe, and convenient toilets is a familiar goal, but it remains a distant one as the field struggles with cultural taboos, poor funding, and lack of political will.

Click here to join the conversation, or to ask Jack questions.

In developing countries, very low income individuals collect trash as a way of earning a living. In Latin America they are known as “recicladores” or recyclers, and in Bogota, we had traffic jams cause by recyclers who rode on "zorras" (talking about innovation, I was told that that they are now using CD's as light reflectors when they are on the road at night). 

Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow Albina Ruiz, through her organization Ciudad Saludable (Healthy City), is organizing these informal workers so that they can earn a decent living. AshokaTech interviewed her about how she came up with this idea and what her plans are for the future:

What do you want to change?
That areas in which poor people reside are clean and healthy, and that recycling is valued as legitimate work.

Why do you want to make this change?
Because when trash accumulates where people live, and in rural areas, there is a negative impact in public health and in the environment, causing a series of illnesses particularly pressing on the most vulnerable: children and the elderly.