On World Toilet Day AMMACHI Labs’ Drive Towards Sanitation; Mould Based Techniques For Toilets

Jyothi Venkatesh 

Over 70% of India’s population lives in rural areas where open defecation is extremely prevalent. This practice leads to disease, poor hygiene, lack of privacy and an increased risk of sexual assault. Amrita University’s research Centre AMMACHI Labs is committed to innovations that will help make proper sanitation possible for all Indians.

The centre has now developed a new mould-based technique for toilet construction that makes constructing toilets easy, efficient and economically viable. The toilet mould was developed by engineers at AMMACHI Labs using 3D modelling. The mould’s key benefits are reductions in both time and cost for constructing toilets in remote, rural settings. Lightweight and easy to work with, when used by a semi-skilled group of four women, the total time to construct a toilet is nearly cut in half - constructing a unit with the mould takes approximately 40 hours, as opposed to an average of 76 hours in conventional construction.

Innovations like these are crucial in developing scalable solutions to solve massive challenges like ending open defecation.

The team at AMMACHI Labs is a diverse group of people from all different backgrounds that look at social challenges and come up with solutions. The toilet model was developed nearly two years ago but to ensure that the model was successful, tests were conducted in different locations and find out its compressive strength and water durability.

AMMACHI Labs does not just build toilets. The centre uses educational methodologies through community mobilization, capacity building, skill development and sustainability maintenance for a community-led total sanitation approach, utilizing innovative e-Learning methods such as the tablet based Rural Toilet Builder course. Empowering women to build toilets and educate themselves about sanitation and sustainability is part of the two year, pan-India initiative jointly funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) called the “Women Empowerment: Community Sanitation through Democratic Participation” (WE:CSDP) which aims to empower at least 5,000 women in rural communities across India to champion sanitation and community development.

The project targets 21 villages in India, and aims to empower at least 5,000 women in rural Indian communities to champion sanitation and community development, eventually reaching their entire village, or 30,000 indirect beneficiaries. Participating women will receive continuous life skill training, will conduct sanitation campaigns, and will organize and mobilize efforts to implement key community actions to access government programs, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, that specifically promotes sanitation. This community mobilization and training effort is designed to efficiently reach entire communities in a short amount of time. It will also provide strength and support to the women advocating and petitioning to their local governments to address social and environmental issues in their villages. It is in line with the Government of India’s commitment to improving sanitation and rural development, as well as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For more Bollywood updates, follow Bollyy!

Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News,  World Toilet Day, AMMACHI