Potty Progress
First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who has supported the Potty Project so far. I have received 12 donations totaling over $1100, and 2 more people have said they will donate to the project, which will bring the total to $1250. The money as well as the encouragement mean as much to me as to those who will benefit from your generosity. THANK YOU!!! Or, as they say here: Onek dhonnobad!
This amount is almost enough to build 6 latrines (with follow-up costs and the fact that materials prices are higher in hilly areas – go figure – the budget went up), which is fantastic. I could use a few more contributions to these 6, if anybody out there would like to make a donation. And if lots of people out there would still like to make a donation at this point, we would happily increase this number to 7 or 8 latrines. Alternatively, if you would like to make a donation later on, you can contact me then and I can arrange something together with SPACE.
So, what’s happening, you ask? Well, I spent all last week in Rangamati (working on the project, but I’ll admit I was pretty darn happy to be there and not here in Dhaka). My intention was to get things well under way, but nothing is ever as easy as it seems, especially in Bangladesh!! I visited our tiny island (Puran Jele Para, Old Fisherman’s Village) together with the folks from YSPA on Tuesday, and found that one of the selected families that had to create space for their eco latrine by restructuring their house had decided that they were unable to do so as the space they would lose is critical to their daily life. Understandable, but disappointing. The other families, however, were set to go and enthusiastic about the prospect of their new potties.
I spent the next day visiting other slums and poor communities in Rangamati to identify suitable places to build more ecosan latrines and found a few good options. In particular, two sites in an indigenous Chakma community were of
interest given not only the lack of sanitation facilities, but also their visibility and the land available for construction. Together with my toilet team from YPSA and SPACE, we will finalize the selection of the remaining two sites (or more, depending on funding) once some more information has been collected from the households and surrounding community.
On Thursday morning, a Project Manager and a mason from SPACE arrived, and we got down to the business of buying materials and arranging for their transportation to the island. Amazingly, after our fair share of negotiations and frustrations, we were able to get everything there by the next afternoon.
We visited the island to make sure all the bricks, cement, etc, etc, etc arrived and also to see that our potty participants were preparing their potty plots as required. I have to say, watching one of the men knock down a wall of his house made me realize how much he must want a decent toilet…
Construction started on Saturday morning. Each household, in addition to contributing whatever resources they have available (sand, bamboo, wood, tin…) is responsible for providing labour, which helps to ensure commitment as well as improving their understanding of how the latrines work. It wasn’t easy to pin people down to this commitment, not because they don’t want to, but because they need to spend their days fishing in order to be able to feed their families. I must say, there were moments when balancing my own expectations of the participants commitment to the project and the harsh realities of their daily lives was not easy. In the end we managed to agree on a construction schedule that left time for fishing, so everyone is happy, at least for now!
When I left the island on Saturday, the first cement beds had been poured. They aren’t much to look at, but it was an awesome sight for me. Who knew cement could be so satisfying?
Today I spent all morning in a meeting with SPACE to discuss roles and responsibilities for the completion and follow up of the project. To their credit, they are extremely dedicated, hard working people and they have been very generous with their time and energy. I was hoping they could be more generous with their funds to help cover some more of the follow up costs, but again, I had to learn to balance my own expectations with the reality of a very small NGO under the iron fist of donor funding that can’t just magically be spent on trips to Rangamati… We managed to reach an understanding and are currently drafting a Memordandum of Understanding (I don’t know how the development sector would survive without their MoUs…) to make sure it’s all clear.
Next week I’ll pop down to Rangamati to see how the construction is going. Then I’m off for 2 months (gotta make the best of unemployment before someone discovers how great I am and whisks me back to the daily grind! : ) and will come back to see the toilets in their full glory, and use, in July.
Questions, comments and, of course, donations welcome.
This amount is almost enough to build 6 latrines (with follow-up costs and the fact that materials prices are higher in hilly areas – go figure – the budget went up), which is fantastic. I could use a few more contributions to these 6, if anybody out there would like to make a donation. And if lots of people out there would still like to make a donation at this point, we would happily increase this number to 7 or 8 latrines. Alternatively, if you would like to make a donation later on, you can contact me then and I can arrange something together with SPACE.
So, what’s happening, you ask? Well, I spent all last week in Rangamati (working on the project, but I’ll admit I was pretty darn happy to be there and not here in Dhaka). My intention was to get things well under way, but nothing is ever as easy as it seems, especially in Bangladesh!! I visited our tiny island (Puran Jele Para, Old Fisherman’s Village) together with the folks from YSPA on Tuesday, and found that one of the selected families that had to create space for their eco latrine by restructuring their house had decided that they were unable to do so as the space they would lose is critical to their daily life. Understandable, but disappointing. The other families, however, were set to go and enthusiastic about the prospect of their new potties.I spent the next day visiting other slums and poor communities in Rangamati to identify suitable places to build more ecosan latrines and found a few good options. In particular, two sites in an indigenous Chakma community were of
interest given not only the lack of sanitation facilities, but also their visibility and the land available for construction. Together with my toilet team from YPSA and SPACE, we will finalize the selection of the remaining two sites (or more, depending on funding) once some more information has been collected from the households and surrounding community.On Thursday morning, a Project Manager and a mason from SPACE arrived, and we got down to the business of buying materials and arranging for their transportation to the island. Amazingly, after our fair share of negotiations and frustrations, we were able to get everything there by the next afternoon.
We visited the island to make sure all the bricks, cement, etc, etc, etc arrived and also to see that our potty participants were preparing their potty plots as required. I have to say, watching one of the men knock down a wall of his house made me realize how much he must want a decent toilet…Construction started on Saturday morning. Each household, in addition to contributing whatever resources they have available (sand, bamboo, wood, tin…) is responsible for providing labour, which helps to ensure commitment as well as improving their understanding of how the latrines work. It wasn’t easy to pin people down to this commitment, not because they don’t want to, but because they need to spend their days fishing in order to be able to feed their families. I must say, there were moments when balancing my own expectations of the participants commitment to the project and the harsh realities of their daily lives was not easy. In the end we managed to agree on a construction schedule that left time for fishing, so everyone is happy, at least for now!
When I left the island on Saturday, the first cement beds had been poured. They aren’t much to look at, but it was an awesome sight for me. Who knew cement could be so satisfying?
Today I spent all morning in a meeting with SPACE to discuss roles and responsibilities for the completion and follow up of the project. To their credit, they are extremely dedicated, hard working people and they have been very generous with their time and energy. I was hoping they could be more generous with their funds to help cover some more of the follow up costs, but again, I had to learn to balance my own expectations with the reality of a very small NGO under the iron fist of donor funding that can’t just magically be spent on trips to Rangamati… We managed to reach an understanding and are currently drafting a Memordandum of Understanding (I don’t know how the development sector would survive without their MoUs…) to make sure it’s all clear.
Next week I’ll pop down to Rangamati to see how the construction is going. Then I’m off for 2 months (gotta make the best of unemployment before someone discovers how great I am and whisks me back to the daily grind! : ) and will come back to see the toilets in their full glory, and use, in July.
Questions, comments and, of course, donations welcome.
posted by ash at 11:51 AM
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