Download - Update: ATDT Composting Toilet Project Los Álvarez Community, Nicaragua for EWB-SFP June 29, 2015
Update: ATDT Compos0ng Toilet Project Los Álvarez Community, Nicaragua
Roberto Or)z-‐Soto, Project Manager Pat Coyle, ATDT lead
for EWB-‐SFP June 29, 2015
Agenda • Background: 2010 Phase 1 pilot, completed • Phase 2, completed implementa0on 8/18 – 8/31/14 • Ac0ons since:
• Rotary Global Grant applica0on • Numerous talks on EWB and compos0ng toilets
• Evalua0on of as-‐built unit for structural upgrades
• Next steps • Future plans • Extra stuff – 0me permiVng
Completed compos0ng toilet from 2010 pilot implementa0on trip
Background • In 2010, EWB-‐SFP ATDT, Alvarez Co-‐op, Alcance Nicaragua (AN) and Outreach Interna0onal (OI), built ten compos0ng toilets with the community of Los Alvarez, Nicaragua (134 families, ~ 938 people) • 95% of its latrines were in poor condi0on. These latrines flood with water during the winter and fail structurally, resul0ng in illnesses due to exposure to fecal macer and water contamina0on • The environment is polluted and inhabitants are exposed to physical harm due to latrine collapse
Completed compos0ng toilet from 2010 pilot implementa0on trip
Phase 1 status • In April 2010, EWB-‐SFP visited Los Alvarez for an exploratory trip • The design selected, with the input from the community, was a two-‐compartment compos0ng latrine that would allow one compartment to be sealed during the compos0ng process • Planning and material procurement took place between October-‐December 2010 • Construc0on took place in January 2011 and ten compos0ng latrines were built • Workshops were conducted on the use and maintenance of the compos0ng latrines • blog: hcp://compostnica.wordpress.com/
Phase 1 status (cont.) • AN has monitored the pilot project • Aeer four years of use, the compos0ng toilets were working great • User acceptance has been high, families harvest organic fer0lizer with a value of ~$77 per cycle • A member of the Alcance Nicaragua team redesigned and built a less expensive compos0ng toilet cuVng the cost by half – so cost compe00ve with a conven0onal latrine, which needs to be replaced, oeen annually
Phase 2 overview • ATDT and OI signed MOU to build addi0onal 10 reduced-‐cost toilets over 12 days in August 2014 • EWB-‐HQ transferred ATDT funds to OI/AN for the local group to purchase materials • AN and the local group iden0fied new beneficiaries, procured materials and transporta0on, managed the construc0on, and collected beneficiaries’ contribu0on (40% of cost) • Constructed 14 of the new redesigned compos0ng toilets
Prototype reduced cost redesigned toilet
Phase 2 (cont.) • July 2014: AN selected par0cipants in community of El Lllanito
• August 2014: Material Procurement prior to construc0on started • August 19-‐August 31, 2014: Construc0on • Post Construc0on: Documenta0on – in progress
Approach Based on value-‐engineered design and materials list, the community group, with the support of Alcance Nicaragua: • managed the materials purchase and transporta0on • Iden0fied next beneficiaries based on the criteria of: latrine condi0on, number of people, type of soil, financial situa0on, and commitment to project • Commiced to repay 40% of total cost: an ini0al payment of $5.75 per family (already paid) and a 24 month repayment plan • Prepared an adequate place to build the compos0ng toilet • Helped with labor during the compos0ng toilet construc0on • Agreed to perform the compos0ng toilet maintenance requirements diligently (Informa0onal workshops were held aeer compos0ng toilets were built)
Community overview – future • I realized when I got there that the Santa Lucia area is made up of 16 communi0es that include Santa Lucia, Los Alvarez, and El Llanito (where we implemented the second phase) • In total, the popula0on of the Santa Lucia area is ~17,000 – comprised of these small communi0es located in a beau0ful, rugged mountainous countryside • Three of the seven Alcance Nicaragua staff live in Santa Lucia, two have lived here their en0re lives • Alcance Nicaragua works with community members using a process they call Desarolla Humano Par0cipa0vo – to engage the community to iden0fy problems and commit to their solu0on
We have a trusted local NGO in this community -‐ we can do more compos0ng toilets, we also iden0fied a water distribu0on project and could do other projects with them. They are the real deal!
Map view of drive to project
NGO has offices in Masaya and Santa Lucia – overall drive 0me from airport, to Masaya, then back north is about two and half hours
GPS view of project
Construc)on process summary by Mario Calderón, AN • Founda0on
• Site selec0on: families locate it in accessible place that avoids streams • Floor Leveling: excava0on the surface area -‐ approximately 1.30 m wide x 2.10 m long x 30 cm deep
Construc)on process (cont.) • Fill excava0on with stones: (locally called bolón) (Approximately wheelbarrows of medium sized stones)
Construc)on process (cont.) • Formwork for founda0on: Prepare pine formwork 2.02 m long x 1.17 m wide, 8 cm thick; to be installed on the base of bolón stone, level and square
Construc)on process (cont.) • Prepare rebar for founda0on: (5) 3/8” bars 2 m long, (6) 1 m long; 0ed with 18 ga wire
Construc)on process (cont.) • Place concrete in founda0on form: 8 cm deep, level and square, ensure rebar grid stays in the concrete
Construc)on process (cont.) • Concrete lids: prepare (3) 3/8” rebar grids , 42 cm wide by 44 cm; make wooden formwork 42 cm wide by 44 cm by 2 inches; fill with concrete (leave handles exposed)
Construc)on process (cont.) • Walls: Place two courses of quarried stone (outside 2.02 m long by 1.10 m wide, 84 cm high from the concrete base); vaults (inside 80 sq cm by 84 cm high); doors to remove compost (42 cm square)
Construc)on process (cont.) • Floor, plugs and plaster: install (2) precast floor panels 100 cm x 110 cm; place concrete plugs of 42 cm x 44 cm x 8 cm in vault openings and one of the floor openings; plaster external walls of vaults
Construc)on process (cont.) • Floor, plugs and plaster: install (2) precast floor panels 100 cm x 110 cm; place concrete plugs of 42 cm x 44 cm x 8 cm in vault openings and one of the floor openings; plaster external walls of vaults
Construc)on process (cont.) • Superstructure (shed): secure wood frame with ¼ thick iron anchor pins in holes drilled in prefab floors; construct 2 x 2 inch pine wood frame (front: 200 cm high, door 60cm wide and 75 cm high, back: 179cm high); walls clad with zinc 28 gauge, 12 foot sheet, fastened with 1 ½ in nails; roof: 3 corrugated zinc sheets, fastened with 2 ½ in nails
Phase 2 Construc)on (cont.)
Families with completed toilets
Families aeer workshop
Post Construc)on: Documenta)on – in progress
Post Construc)on: Structural evalua)on/upgrades – in progress • Our augmented team consists of: Pat Coyle, Melissa Crouse, Machew Kallerud, John Mar0nez, Roberto Or0z-‐Soto, Randy Smith, Lloyd Soohoo, Tyler Wagnor, and Steven Wong
• All have been ac0ve in discussions regarding structural evalua0ons and inexpensive upgrades to improve the integrity of the structure • Special thanks to: • Melissa Crouse for modeling the as-‐built compos0ng latrine in Solidworks • Steven Wong and Lloyd Soohoo for their structural evalua0on and ideas for inexpensive upgrades
Structural evalua)on/upgrades – in progress (con)nued) The emerging approach s0ll requires finaliza0on and review of calcula0ons, but would: • Add concrete masonry units (CMUs) with rebar and grout at the corners of the base vault structure to add moment resistance • Limit the force into the base vault structure from the upper superstructure. The approach provides a graceful failure of the superstructure so it would detach from the base vault structure in high wind loads (~80mph). This allows us to ignore the design of the superstructure (which we cannot assign strengths to without significantly adding to the cost) and s0ll have an adequate design for the vault below
Structural evalua)on/upgrades – in progress (con)nued) The superstructure base vault structure acachment descrip0on follows: • A lumber base plate would be mounted to the top perimeter of the
base, before the superstructure is acached • This member would be anchored through the precast concrete
floors into the stone masonry structure • The lightweight superstructure would be placed atop this configura0on on the sill plate • An outer perimeter member, with a lower row of nails would acach to the sill plate. An upper row of nails would acach to the base member of the wooden superstructure
Structural evalua)on/upgrades – in progress (con)nued) The superstructure base vault structure acachment descrip0on (cont): • The nails will peel out with sufficient wind loading, releasing the superstructure, before too much bending or tension is placed on the vault structure below • Were this not the case, in high winds, like the design basis hurricane for Nicaragua, the en0re structure, including the stone vault would have the poten0al to 0p • See cartoon of detail in next slide
Numerous talks on EWB and compos)ng toilets
Presented to: • EWRI ASCE, • Rotary clubs: • Livermore, • TriValley • Castro
Valley • EWB
Symposium Without Borders at Davis
Next steps • The EWB team has raised funds to do more compos0ng toilets for families that need them • Almost $3k through an IndieGoGo campaign • $7.5k grant from EWB-‐SFP chapter • My Rotary Club of Livermore and our NGO partnered with the Masaya Nicaragua Rotary for a Global Grant (GG) for $37.5k, enough to do about 80 more units – at Los Alvarez and El Llanito, and El Tunel and La Prusia, closer to Masaya and Granada • Bill Noc’s Rotary Club of Castro Valley helped us reach $15k minimum to qualify for matching Rotary Interna0onal (RI) grant • We are responding to comments from RI on the applica0on – none of them deal with the design • EWB-‐SFP ATDT is dona0ng $5k
Future plans • EWB's announcement of their Nicaragua office and first hire, Edrulfo Rodriguez, offers a par0cularly interes0ng opportunity
• Our SFP chapter has: • an exis0ng infrastructure project for water supply in El Limon, • the Appropriate Technology Design Team (ATDT) compos0ng toilets, • a new water supply system project in Nicaragua – which means we will be engaged for a minimum of five more years
• I’m also interested in using EWB Service Corp or ATDT models with Rotary Global Grants with the potental to go beyond tradi0onal one chapter-‐one community EWB programs for broader, regional impacts
Again, Nicaragua is easy to visit: A red-‐eye from SFO gets you to Managua by mid-‐morning
Extra stuff – 0me permiVng But wait, you also get… • Teasers on: • new water supply project • 5-‐gal bucket based compos0ng toilet workshop • Not just for 3rd World -‐ hands-‐on EWB workshop at
UC Davis • Example of numerous talks on EWB and compos0ng
toilets • Excerpt from travel memoir piece, Compos&ng Toilets:
A Love Story • More photos from the August 2014 implementa0on trip
Just got applica)on from AN for new water supply project
New water supply project loca)on: near El Llanito
Exis)ng well and site
Not just for 3rd World -‐ hands-‐on EWB workshop at UC Davis Based on A Sewer Catastrophe Companion: Dry Toilets for Wet Disasters, the field-‐proven 5-‐gallon pail based compos&ng approach for seismic or other emergency response situa&ons
Portland Oregon’s Bureau of Emergency Management has adopted this approach as part of their planning
Hands-‐on workshop (cont.)
Hands-‐on workshop (cont.)
Hands-‐on workshop (cont.)
Wrap-‐up, Q&A • Compos0ng toilets/Dry Sanita0on: The simple way to think about
this is “Don't poop in the water.” Ques0ons? Email me, [email protected], with follow up ques0ons and for a copy of the Sewer Catastrophe Companion: Dry Toilets for Wet Disasters, the field-‐proven 5-‐gallon pail based compos&ng approach for seismic or other emergency response situa&ons … or you can find it online at: hcp://www.portlandoregon.gov/pbem/ar0cle/447707
Excerpt from travel memoir short story
This compos0ng toilet reduced cost by incorpora0ng recycled parts from a failed conven0onal latrine: • Reused door, angle and tube steel frame, sheet metal siding • Revised superstructure to accommodate these parts
Proyecto de letrinas aboneras El Llanito, Nicaragua