Simavi supports Swedish Peepoople's initial launch project in Kenya
The self-sanitising biodegradable Peepoo toilet from Sweden will continue to save lives in Kenya. On Wednesday afternoon the Dutch Postcode Lottery announced their decision to donate 1,6 million Euros to the Dutch public health organisation Simavi to support Peepoopleʼs first launch project in Kibera, Nairobi, one of Africa's largest slums. Thereby, the funding of the Peepoo market introduction in Kibera is secured until 2013.
Goal
The Peepoo project in Kibera is carried out by Peepoople Kenya in cooperation with strong partners like Simavi. The goal is to introduce the self-sanitizing biodegradable Peepoo-toilet to the slum dwellers of Kibera, giving them access to hygienic and dignified sanitation. The purpose of the pilot is to prove that the Peepoo solution works on a large scale in an urban slum environment. It will also test and evaluate alternative business models and demonstrate the solution's great potential to improve the health, environment and living conditions for poor people.
Mothers
Access to sanitation is a human right, but it is one of the most neglected of the UN Millennium goals. The lack of toilets creates tremendous problems worldwide and is one of the leading causes of child mortality. Simavi works for everyone's right to good health, with particular focus on providing families with clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation. The central role in these families is played by mothers. Therefore Simavi works together with these mothers in improving their hygienic conditions. The Dutch Postcode Lotteryʼs donation to Simavi enables their continued support to Peepoopleʼs first urban slum project in Kibera. Together with the support from the Swedish Innovation Agency VINNOVA, the funding of the Peepoo project in Kibera is now secured.
"To have a recognized and experienced organization like Simavi as partner is important for the success of the project and the fact that the Dutch Postcode Lottery has chosen to support the Peepoo project confirms the Peepoo solutionʼs great potential to help solve the huge sanitation problems in the world", says Karin Ruiz, CEO of Peepoople.
Bag gardens
Since the fall of 2010 Peepoo toilets are sold in Kibera by women micro-entrepreneurs, providing them with a source of income. After use the Peepoos are disposed at Peepoople drop-points where a refund is offered, financed by the fertilizer value. The Peepoo solution has also been introduced in two schools in Kibera, where schoolchildren, besides getting to access to clean toilets, learn about hygiene, sanitation and health. In the schools sanitized Peepoos are reused as fertilizer in the so called "bag gardens" where vegetables are grown to improve food security for the children.
"The Peepoo solution help improve social conditions, health and environment of the slums and other exposed areas. The support from Simavi allows us to pursue the Peepoo market introduction according to plan and improve the daily lives of thousands of residents of Kibera,while at the same time getting a large-scale proof of concept", says Camilla Wirseen,Peepoopleʼs Project Director for the Kibera project.
"Peepooʼs strength is that it focuses on the local population's habits and traditions and makes them sustainable, rather than forcing people to adjust their behaviour. For people without other options, such as the residents of Kibera, it is an appreciated and good solution. We are very pleased to be able to help introducing this new promising sanitation solution in urban slums where the majority of the inhabitants lacks access to toilets", says Rolien Sasse, Director of Simavi.
For more information, please contact:
- Martijn Tamboer, Press Officer, Simavi martijn.tamboer@simavi.nl
About Peepoople
2.6 billion people worldwide lack access to toilets. The mission of Peepoople is that all people who so desire shall have access to dignified and hygienic sanitation. Today, over 1 billion people in extremely densely populated slums where lack of sanitation has very serious implications on human health and the environment. Every year nearly two million people die as a result of diarrheal diseases, of which 90 per cent are children under five. By introducing the Peepoo, Peepoople offers an entirely new approach to solve the sanitation problems in slums, emergencies and refugee camps. Peepoo is a self-sanitising and biodegradable toilet, which turns lethal human waste into safe and valuable fertiliser. It is an advanced, low-cost product that does not require initial investments, access to water or fixed infrastructure. The Peepoo concept is based on research from SLU, KTH, and industrial partners include, inter alia, BASF, Billerud and FIMTech. Peepoople was founded in 2006 by architect and Professor Anders Wilhelmson and is based in Stockholm. In 2010 established Peepoople office and production in Kenya, and in autumn, Peepoo solution to market.
- peepoople.com
- mynewsdesk.com/peepoople
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Gepubliceerd op: 21/02/2011
