With our own hands : experiences in promoting ecological sanitation and food security in Mindanao

A practical guide for those in need of proper sanitation without going far and wide and spending so much to obtain necessary materials to build a clean, safe and decent toilet. Building a proper toilet is now affordable, socially and culturally acceptable and therefore sustainable at the household and community level. The importance of this publication should not be taken for granted because there are more than 20 million Filipinos suffering the indignities and health hazards of not having access to proper sanitation. This book is aimed to address the needs of the base of the pyramid (BoP), the households who are too poor to afford their own toilets, those in remote areas un-served by government services, those with inadequate or do not have adequate supply of clean water, and those in conflict and disaster-hit areas. This field guide can now put a stop to the old and oftentimes, inappropriate practice of doling out pour-flush toilet bowls by government and donor organizations, even though we know they are well meaning. This publication will also benefit sanitation professionals as it present new knowledge available at the tip of the fingers of sanitation advocates, promoters and practitioners. There is new knowledge in this manual on Ecosan approaches and technologies. And true to the principles of Ecological Sanitation, it promotes the safe reuse of human urine and feces as fertilizers, a key feature in sustainable sanitation. If distributed widely and used adequately, it can greatly advance our efforts in trying to meet our MDG target for sanitation by 2015. (authors abstract)