Community-led Integrated Waste and Wastewater Management

Brief description2000 characters max

Until a few years ago, Sano Khokana, a traditional village at the fringes of Patan City in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, was suffering from the problem of open defecation and sewage disposal. Even though almost 80 percent of its inhabitants had pit latrines in their homes, they could not use them for technical and financial reasons.

To enhance the livelihood of the Sano Khokana community and to increase residents’ access to basic water and sanitation facilities, an integrated decentralized waste and waste water treatment system has been constructed by community members with support from the local NGO Lumanti Support Group for Shelter and the UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal. The system, which has been constructed on land contributed by the community, consists of a biogas plant with linked compost plant/ slurry drier and a reed bed treatment system. It ensures that residents now properly manage their waste and utilize the approach and its outputs for energy generation, irrigation and as fertilizer.

The integrated waste and waste water treatment practice is currently fully operational and benefits all 37 households. Each household whose latrine is connected to the biogas plant pays a monthly fee of NRs 30 ($0.38) into the community-managed operation and maintenance fund for wastewater and sewage disposal. The 5 households that receive the resulting biogas for cooking additionally pay NRs. 200 (USD 2.5) per month.

With the initiation of this project, appreciable results have been achieved. Improved in-house sanitation conditions resulted in residents almost stopping open defecation, which markedly improved comfort, hygiene and general environmental living conditions of the community. By improving agricultural productivity, the practice has also had a positive economic impact on the community.

The practice enjoyed community support and participation from the very beginning and people are satisfied with its functioning. However, the major challenge is to provide biogas to all the households of Sano Khokana.

Some components of the system have already been replicated in Bharatpur squatter settlement and immense benefits could be gained from replicating the integrated waste and wastewater management approach of Sano Khokana in other parts of the country or the Asia-Pacific region.

Location

where is/will be the solution located ? (regions, urban/rural, climatic conditions)300 characters max.

Sano Khokana, Kathmandu Valley, Lalitpur, Nepal

Khokana is a traditional village located in Lalitpur district in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. It is about 7 km away from the Ring Road, south of Patan City. Lalitpur district encapsulates Patan City and is physically linked to Kathmandu district. Khokana is made up of 9 Wards that are spread across hilly terrain. Wards 1 to 8 are concentrated within the same location and are collectively known as Thulo

Khokana. The Community-led Integrated Waste and Wastewater Management practice is situated in ward 9, which is isolated from the other wards and is locally known as Sano Khokana.

Actors

Who had initiated the project? What were the stakeholders’ drivers?Which actors proved strategic in the implementation?At what stage were they brought in?Who has ensured follow-up of the solution at the local level?

The system has been constructed by community members with support from the local NGO Lumanti Support Group for Shelter and financial and technical assistance from UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal.

The main partners involved in planning and implementation of the Community-led Integrated Waste and Wastewater Management practice were Lumanti Support group for Shelter, UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal, Motherland Energy Group, Khokana Community Learning Centre and the Active Group for Environment and Sanitation.

Lumanti, Support Group for Shelter is a national NGO that has been actively working for urban poor communities such as slums and squatters for the past 13 years since 1993. Its activities include advocating for secured shelter for squatter communities, conducting education and support programmes for children, promoting women’s saving and credit groups and supporting them for income generation activities, and providing basic water and sanitation infrastructures. Lumanti has also established an Urban Resource Center which maintains data related to urban poverty and serves as a resource centre for other institutions.

In recent years, Lumanti has extended its activities to peri-urban areas of the Kathmandu Valley like Khokana, Bungamati, and Thimi to improve and provide water and sanitation facilities for the poor. In this context, Lumanti has been working on sanitation issues like drainage improvements, stone pavement and pathway improvements, trainings for health and hygiene etc. in Khokana village since 2004. Nevertheless, Sano Khokana was continuing to face serious environmental issues of increasing concern to the community. The community therefore consulted Lumanti in search of an appropriate remedy to address their water and sanitation problems.

Lumanti’s role in this project has been that of main support NGO. It mobilized the community and carried out the overall planning and implementation of the project. After the concept of the Community-led Integrated Waste and Wastewater Management approach was formulated, Lumanti approached UN-HABITAT for financial and technical assistance. Throughout the project period, it assisted in planning, implementation and monitoring; capacity development of the community through trainings on monitoring and evaluation, health and hygiene, book-keeping etc., awareness programmes, community mobilization, partnership building and project information dissemination.

The UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme was officially launched on 18 March 2003, during the opening plenary session of Water and Cities at the Third World Water Forum (WWF3) in Osaka, Japan. The overriding thrust of the Water for Asian Cities Programme is to support cities in Asia to meet the water and sanitation related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by enhancing capacity at

city, country and regional levels, and creating an enabling environment for new investments to be channeled into the urban water and sanitation sector. The Programme primarily focuses on Pro-poor Urban Water Governance, Urban Water Demand Management, Integrated Urban Environmental Sanitation, and creation of income generation opportunities for the urban poor by involving them in the management and delivery of community-based water and sanitation services.

UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme supported new efforts to increase agro-productivity by improving the water and sanitation situation in Khokana and by focusing on a total ecological sanitation system1 in Sano Khokana, while Lumanti still supervises the overall functioning of the system.

UN-HABITAT, through its Water, Sanitation & Infrastructure Branch was responsible for the overall supervision and backstopping of the Project execution including:

Coordinate and monitor project implementation, Provide funds to LUMANTI for undertaking various project activities, Review and monitor all technical designs, procurement processes and

implementation arrangements, Provide advisory services to assist LUMANTI in the project implementation,

and Undertake a joint end-of-project evaluation.

Khokana Community Learning Center (CLC) is a local NGO which took the lead in implementation of the project in Khokana. An agreement was signed between Lumanti and Khokana CLC for processing the activities further. CLC had been established in 1997 and it comprises of residents of Khokana as its staff to study the living condition of the people in Khokana. It has been working towards the improvement of livelihood, health, women empowerment, education, culture, income generation activities and also conducts vocational trainings. CLC mobilized the community for the day to day implementation and monitoring of the activities. It was involved in every step of construction activities like labour management, purchase of materials and taking responsibility for construction.

The CBO Active Group for Environmental Sanitation established in 2007, is a unit under the Khokana Community Learning Centre (CLC). It bears the overall responsibility of operation and maintenance of the integrated approach. It has 11 executive members and one member from each household as general members. The CBO’s responsibilities are as follows:

Collect the tariff from users and visitors as well as penalty payments from defaulters,

Call community meeting if required, Communicate with agencies, Operate, maintain and manage the system, Oversee and regulate the waste collection process, The waste is segregated

at the household level. There are 3 buckets in each household whereby the biodegradable, recyclable and non-degradable wastes are separated. Then, the biodegradable wastes are grinded and used into the digester, non-degradable into the slurry bed while non-degradable are dumped into the collection unit.

Settle conflicts within community should any arise, and

1

Take necessary actions for the improvement of the sanitary situation within the community as needed.

The Motherland Energy Group is a consulting firm that supported the designing of the biogas and RBTS for the community. The consultancy was paid US$2,856 for their service.

State of progress

What is the current development status of the solution (if relevant, please describe the steps already taken and on-going/planned activities leading to the full development and preliminary testing of the solution)?

The biogas unit became operational in August 2007 whereas the RBTS started in September 2008. Due to some technical repairs required during construction of RBTS, it took a year to commence. The practice is in full operation at present directly benefitting 37 households. The operation and maintenance fund is collected from these beneficiaries. Definitions and descriptions of the functions of the various components of the Community-led Integrated Waste and Wastewater Management approach are given in Box: 1 below.

The kitchen waste is separated at household level. Biodegradable waste is grinded before it passes into the digester where as all non-degradable waste is piled up near the drying bed. The community is constructing a structure of 13.94m2 to manage such inorganic recyclable waste and transport it to recycling factories by the end of this year The collection unit has been made now but there hasn’t been much progress in transporting of the recyclables as the volume of the recyclables is not significant enough till date.

The biogas digester, where fermentation of waste takes place and gas is generated, is connected to the toilets of all households of Sano Khokana through a 100 m permanent, underground sewer line. Through it, the black water from 34 households is directed to the bio-gas plant. The lifetime of the biogas digester is 20 years after which it needs to be cleaned or renovated. The CBO Active Group for Environmental Sanitation is responsible to take care of the maintenance. It will cost approximately NRs. 20,000 ($254) to clean the digester in 20 years time. Every month, nominal amount of money is collected from every individual households as a tariff and is being saved in the account of CBO as part of the maintenance of the system. A gas pipeline further connects the dome of the biogas digester with the 5 households that receive the biogas for cooking.

A compost plant/slurry drier has been built to convert slurry into compost.  The slurry from the biogas digester is dried in this plant. The compost will be prepared in approximately 3 years period which is envisaged to use as a fertilizer in agriculture. It means that it will take around 3 years to prepare compost from the slurry as the slurry drying bed has to fill completely and also the slurry has to dry properly. The organic matter is also co-composted in the dry bed with the slurry. Grey-water from the kitchen and black-water from the toilet are directed through the Anaerobic Baffle Reactor and then to Reed Bed Treatment System for further recycling. The excess water from the sludge drier is also diverted to Reed Bed Treatment System.  Then the treated water is collected in a small pond and utilized for irrigation and fish farming.

Grinder on top of underground bio-digester, drying beds for slurry/ composting Pits, and RBTS with irrigation pond in front

Fig 1: Plan of Biogas Digester and Slurry Drying Beds

Fig 2: Working mechanism of biogas plant and RBTS

Water Treatment Plant

Bathroom/ Kitchen waste water Other degradable waste e.g. Paper

Household Waste

BIOGAS PLANT

Clean Water

Irrigation

Fish Farming

Generated gas for cooking purposes

Digested slurry

Manure

Toilet Waste Kitchen waste

COMPOST PIT- I

COMPOST PIT-II

Box 1: Definitions and functions of system components

Biogas is often also referred to as swamp or landfill gas. It is produced by the decay of organic matter in an environment that contains little to no oxygen. Biogas production is a natural process and works on basically any organic waste (crop waste, lawn clippings, septic tank waste and even household trash). Biogas typically contains 65 percent methane and 30 percent carbon dioxide which makes it a promising source of alternative fuel since methane is combustible. Biogas is an odorless gas that burns with a clear blue flame similar to that of LPG gas. It can also be converted to other energy forms.

A Biogas Plant consists of a bio digester where the kitchen waste and waste water are collected to ferment producing biogas in the process, which is collected in the dome or gasholder. In Sano Khokana, the capacity of the biogas digester is 20 cubic meters. Usually a gas formation cycle is completed within 45 days. Gas generated from this digester is collected on the top of the chamber and distributed through a distribution pipe. At present 5 households are benefiting from the biogas and pay USD 5.00 each for operation and maintenance. The digested slurry flows to the outlet tank through the manhole. The slurry then flows through the overflow opening to the compost pit where it is collected and composted in the sludge drying bed. The excess black water from the sludge drying bed and the kitchen wastewater is then directed to the RBTS for further treatment.

Waste Grinder: The Sano Khokana biogas plant also has a biodegradable solid waste grinder, so the waste collected from households is grinded before it passes into the digester. This process increases the efficiency of the digester and therefore the amount of gas generated.

Compost Plant and Slurry Drier: In Sano Khokana, a compost plant/slurry drier has been built to convert slurry into compost. Slurry from the biogas digester is dried in this plant utilizing atmospheric air & sun. Usually slurry is kept here for three months and turned every 15 days. Excess water is collected and diverted into Reed Bed Treatment Plant. A Reed Bed Treatment System (RBTS) is a biological wastewater treatment system that mimics processes found in natural wetland ecosystems to remove pollutants from wastewater. It is therefore sometimes also referred to as Constructed Wetland Treatment System. It is a shallow basin filled with some sort of substrate, usually sand or gravel, planted with vegetation tolerant to saturated conditions (i.e. black or grey water). The RBTS utilizes wetland plants, soils and their associated micro-organisms to remove contaminants from wastewater. The plants assist in the cleaning process by transporting oxygen to the microorganisms in the bed through their root hairs and by absorbing some nutrients and other substances. It is a cost effective, locally manageable and eco-friendly system to treat wastewater. In Sano Khokana, a Horizontal Reed Bed Treatment Unit has been constructed for final treatment of the effluents. The unit is 25 m long and 9 meter wide and filled with 0.7 m of sand as a treatment media. On top of the sand, common reeds have been planted. Wastewater from the baffle reactor and the slurry dryer is evenly discharged over 25 m length of the treatment plant. Wastewater then slowly moves from one end to another end (9 m) and it is treated in this course of travel. This constructed wetland will treat approx. 18.5m3 of wastewater per day discharged from 37 households in the community and has the capacity to treat 40-50 m3 of waste water per day. Retention time of the wastewater in this unit is estimated about 8-10 hrs. Then the treated water is collected in a small pond and will be utilized for irrigation.

An Anaerobic Baffle Reactor treats the black and grey water before it enters the RBTS. In Sano Khokana, a three chambered anaerobic baffle reactor with a capacity of 18.23 m 3 has been constructed for higher treatment efficiency and a simple mechanism has been introduced to maximize the contact time of raw waste water and sludge in order maximize biological treatment. It is estimated that 50 percent of the pollutant like COD, BOD, suspended solids, and nutrients will be removed from this unit. Semi-treated wastewater is then passes to Reed Bed Treatment Unit for further treatment.

Fig 3: Layout of the Project

Each household whose latrine is connected to the biogas plant pays a monthly fee of NRs 30 ($ 0.38) for the wastewater and sewage disposal service. The benefiting 5 households pay a tariff of NRs. 200 ($ 2.54) per month each for the biogas obtained from the bio gas plant. The entry fee is also charged to institutional

visitors who come to the village to learn about the integrated waste and wastewater management approach. They charge NRs. 1000 ($12.7) for the organization and NRs. 500 ($6.35) for the group of people with less than 5 members. Against the fee they provide a guide and time of the community.

The overall monitoring responsibility is undertaken by Active Group for Environmental Sanitation which is in the process of registration in District Administrative Office. This will ensure their accountability; legitimacy and the transparency would be maintained. The collected fund is deposited in the account of the CBO and that has been utilized to pay for the salary of the caretaker of the biogas plant and RBTS.

The caretaker’s name is Mrs. Dusmaya Maharjan. [She has recently been appointed in place of Dhanu Mahrajan] She is paid NRs. 1,500 ($19.04) per month. She is responsible for the day to day operation and maintenance of the biogas plant. She works 3 hours a day. Her work also entails collecting organic waste from the households to feed to the digester daily. For collecting 5 kg of organic waste NRs. 2.00 ($0.025) is charged. The caretaker is provided with plastic bin, shovel, apron, gloves, mask, boots and a pulling cart for collection of waste.

Problem to solve

Key question your solution aims to answer (i.e. if your Solution is the answer, then what is the question) and how does that fit with the target?How does the solution contribute to the target’s effective implementation and attainment?

Sano Khokana used to be a beautiful and environmentally sound place. The people had a traditional composting system, the ‘Saaga’ and ‘Nauga’, where they practiced defecation and dumped biodegradable waste for preparing organic manure. [Saaga<see pic17> is made by digging the ground and dumping the biodegradable wastes from kitchen and other household wastes into it. It is covered by the hay and the garden material. Over the months, the materials get decomposed and it is finally used as compost in the agricultural fields. Nauga<see pic18> has been used as the urinating place in the past. It is also prepared by digging the ground but dumping ash into it. Then, people urinate over the ash which then turns out to the fertilizer usable in agriculture. But, these were eventually disregarded as they were unhygienic, unmanageable, odorous, uncovered and attractive niche for the flies and other insects. These also contributed to the indoor air pollution and appearance seemed filthy. However, along with modernization, the traditional system was slowly disregarded and pit latrines came into use instead. About 80 percent of the households had pit latrines in their home. The pit latrines would fill up approximately every 3 years. As many of the residents in Sano Khokana are poor, they feared using the pit latrines as they could not afford to have them emptied. Another complication was that due to the high ground water table, an additional NRs. 4000 ($51) would be required for de-sludging if the latrines were filled. Initially the latrines would fill up in around 2 to 3 years. But after it was emptied, it would fill more frequently i.e. almost twice in a year which means the cost of more than US$100 per year .This further intensified the problem of open defecation in the community making Sano Khokana an unhealthy and unsanitary place to live in. People started suffering more frequently from diseases like eye infection, tuberculosis, dysentery, diarrhoea, jaundice, skin infections, chicken pox, small pox, and scabies "Luto" . Prior to the construction of this integrated system, the open defecation and unmanaged

sanitation was the major problem which led to several health and hygiene problem of the community people. In addition, there was lack of awareness. Nevertheless, with this practice in operation, overall sanitation of the community was upgraded which indirectly improved the personal hygiene of the people as well. This was reported in the Hygiene Assessment Report 2008 of Lumanti.The unsatisfactory sanitation conditions were also diminishing the beauty of Khokana, which is a heritage town with important religious functions.

As the local authority did not have any future plans for the improvement of the prevailing sanitation conditions, the Community-led Integrated Waste and Wastewater Management approach was proposed to address the major needs of Sano Khokana residents in an economically viable manner. The approach solved the sanitation problem and manages the waste of entire community as well. Both solid and liquid wastes are treated and utilized for energy and irrigation needs.

Added-value and cost effectiveness

What are the solution’s key outputs and what impacts did the solution have given the investment level (not only financial)?Can the solution continue to deliver tangible impacts on the long term?

With the initiation of this project, appreciable results and impacts have been achieved. This project has been very effective in terms of improving the environmental sanitation of the village. In the past, people defecated in the open as most of them feared that their household pit latrines would fill up due to the high groundwater table in that area. However, with the new practice in operation, fecal sludge generated by households is managed by diverting it as an input for the biogas plant. Thus, people have almost stopped defecating in the open, which has definitely improved the environment and in-house sanitation conditions.

In addition, the new practice has a direct economic impact on the community as the households no longer have the burden of emptying the filled septic tanks once a year and the problem of disposing organic and inorganic household waste has also been solved. Instead of paying a charge for emptying the septic tank and managing their waste, community people receive energy generated in the form of biogas and organic fertilizer. The free energy in the sense that they are getting it out of the waste management and the tariff they are charging it is for the self sustainability of the operation. It has been observed that the households using biogas can save up to NRs. 5,000 ($63.5) per annum compared to other households using LPG and stoves for cooking.

Further, excess water from the sewer drain had to be diverted from the biogas plant as it is not good for biogas production; hence, the wastewater of the community is managed through the RBTS and is being used for irrigation after treatment. This has also improved the poor environmental sanitation conditions and meets the water requirements for farming without any constraints. The wastewater which would have been otherwise simply discharged improperly has been utilized for irrigation benefitting the farmers and conserving the fresh water as well. Due to the additional treated wastewater, agricultural productivity has increased thereby annually saving the community NRs.10,000 ($127). Currently, all the households use the organic fertilizer as well as the treated black water for agriculture.

Apart from improving sanitation and increasing irrigation water, the practice has some indirect positive effects as well. It has helped in changing the traditional attitude of the people towards using the new and alternative technologies and has widened their openness for innovation. A few years back, the residents of Khokana used to suffer from diseases like eye infection, tuberculosis, dysentery, diarrhea, jaundice etc. Now, according to one of the health workers in the community, occurrence of these diseases has reduced by 90 percent.

People said: "We came to know about various diseases and places to seek medical treatment only after the program. After this program, people have become aware of not only personal hygiene but environmental hygiene as well. Before we hardly used to bathe during winters, but now we bathe at least twice a week. No open defecation can be seen outside as everyone is using the toilet. Due to this, there is considerable reduction of flies which is the source of disease." People now listen to the radio whenever there a health program is being aired. They also go to the health post and hospitals at the early stages of a disease.

The approach has further contributed to reducing indoor pollution. Women used to burn plastic and wood to cook food before, resulting in acute respiratory problems. However, now kerosene stoves, They are considering for it and would gradually look forward to motivate them. gas stoves and biogas have eased their life not only in terms of time, but also in terms of economic and health aspects.

The residents are quite satisfied with the plant, as it also does not pollute the environment, especially the river. One of the resident said, "After the biogas plant became operational, we have seen multiple effects of it. Thus, food cooks faster with biogas than LPG. Slurry can be used for composting and compost is sold, generating income. But so far, the selling of compost has not taken place. As they have a demand for the compost and the fields are nearby they would invite farmers just to come and collect it with some tariff which they have not discussed yet. Wastewater is treated and is used for irrigation and other purposes. One community member said: “Though it did not rain adequately this year, we planted rice on time because of the treated water from RBTS. We used the treated wastewater to irrigate our land. The black water would have been wasted if there was no treatment plant.”

The visitors now come here to see and to study this community-led waste and wastewater management system and its operation process. This has created further opportunity to generate some income for the operation and maintenance of the system.

In Nepal, where all wastewater is drained into the surface of water bodies without any treatment, there is a new hope that this treatment system will minimize the effects of river water pollution.

Monitoring

In the process of effectively implementing this solution, what are some of the key qualitative and quantitative indicators of success over time (i.e. what would you expect to see change, where and when)?

The CBO monitors the whole practice and establishes its rules and regulations. It also collects the tariff and maintains the record and is responsible for the overall management of the system. Each of the households benefits from its waste being

treated, though only 5 households can enjoy the biogas due to the limited amount of waste generated for biogas production. The technical and operational quality of the project is ensured as it is currently fully operational and major problems have not been encountered by the community. The water quality has also been tested and it meets WHO guideline values. The CBO reports to Lumanti every 6 months about the status of the project.

Since all the households are direct beneficiaries of this good practice, everybody pays their user fees. The revenue collected is deposited in the account of the CBO and is utilised for the staff salary and maintenance of the system.

All the local people, both men and women were involved throughout, in the planning, designing and construction phases. Women were also involved in the organisational work. Thus, the community has a genuine feeling of ownership of the practice. This has also triggered a sense of responsibility amidst them which is yet another positive impact of the project and one that promises successful continuation. Several community-level meetings and public meetings were held for planning and implementing this project. However, at household level, sorting of wastes is done by women while the activities at community level are mainly the responsibility of men.

The visitors now come here to see and to study this community-led waste and wastewater management system and its operation process. This has created further opportunity to generate some income for the operation and maintenance of the system.

In Nepal, where all wastewater is drained into the surface of water bodies without any treatment, there is a new hope that this treatment system will minimize the effects of river water pollution.

The key innovation of the project lies in its integrated approach where apart from treatment of wastewater, excretory materials of living beings are not only dumped, but is also utilized as a resource for the energy generation. Further, the participation of community members in the form of unskilled labor during the construction of Biogas plant and RBTS is another effort delivered by them to make this practice successful and appreciable. This practice is innovative and successful as it combines sludge disposal, energy generation and wastewater treatment.

Since the construction of the biogas plant, households’ grey and black wastewater is digested in the biogas plant generating the capacity to regularly provide biogas to five households in the community. The constructed wetland has the capacity to treat excess wastewater discharged from the biogas plant and the anaerobic baffle reactor benefits farmers by allowing the treated water to be used for irrigation of their fields. In other words, a total integrated ecological sanitation system is functioning for the benefit the community of Sano Khokana.

Implementation and replication potential

Given your experience, who would / should be most interested in this Solution and why? How will it help them?In what context do you think this solution could / would work best and why?Given your experience, what would be needed to upscale this solution, for example to a political or/and a regional level?2000 characters max.

The Sano Khokana biogas and Reed Bed Treatment System has proved to be one of the best examples of an integrated approach towards waste and wastewater management. It has been practiced in the small VDC of Khokana whereby each member of every household is gaining benefit in one way or another. Since the approach is operational, it has also caught the attention of other communities as the technology is simple, cost-effective, locally acceptable, integrated, eco-friendly and operated at minimum cost.

Due to these advantages, this practice can be replicated in other peri-urban communities with clusters of households to utilise their waste, enjoy natural fuel at minimum cost and with low pollution, produce compost for their agriculture and utilise wastewater for irrigation as well.

The Reed Bed treatment system itself is already a replication from a successfully operated one in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality. The biogas plant on the other hand has since been replicated in Bharatpur. However, in order to achieve maximum benefits, a combination of the two approaches as has been implemented in Sano Khokana is advisable and could be replicated across the country and elsewhere.

Although, the practice has proved to be a successful example in managing waste and wastewater locally, the government so far has no plans or policy to promote it or to support its up-scaling and replication.

A strong national policy is required to promote decentralized waste and wastewater management. The government has not yet developed an urban water and sanitation policy and sanitation master plan. The ‘Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilization Centre’, the only government institution responsible for the solid waste management in the country, is so far focusing its interest on central landfill options.

This practice has established strong evidence that the government should be investing in community-based decentralized integrated waste and wastewater management. A reform in the traditional thinking of waste management is required.

Key lessons learnt

What tips and guidance (dos and don’ts) would you give to others interested in applying this solution in their own context?What is the minimum investment necessary (in terms of human resources, time, energy, infrastructure, financial resources, political will, etc.) in order to effectively implement this solution?What are the main factors of success that you wish to emphasize?

It was possible to successfully complete the project because of the small project size. It was difficult to convince people initially; however, with continuous interactions and discussions, the practice was successfully implemented and is still functioning effectively.

Decentralised and eco-friendly sanitary intervention is possible.

Awareness raising and orientation is a key methodology to work in traditional communities.

Exposure visits by community people are a crucial component required to broaden their knowledge of the project concept and to clarify the advantage of the project.

Media and other advocating agencies can play vital role in advocating replication of such a project for environmental sanitation in different localities. For this a good documentation resource is a must.

The integrated approach towards wastewater and sanitation can be implemented with the involvement of the beneficiary community. This practice also showed that multiple benefits can be derived from a single small-scale intervention.

Social conflict can be resolved through dialogue and by clearly outlining the benefits of the intervention.

The identity of a historically and culturally important place can be preserved if the local people take care of it and understand its essence.

Small-cost projects like this project can be smart alternatives in places that have clusters of households to obtain multiple benefits like biogas from waste, waste being managed, production of compost which is further utilised for agriculture, wastewater being utilised for irrigation and clean water being conserved.

The total cost of the project was around NRs.13, 00,000 ($16,502) which was funded by the UN-Habitat Water for Asian Cities Programme. Total direct beneficiaries of the Biogas Plant and RBTS are the 229 people of Sano Khokana from whom the operation and maintenance fund is collected. This responsibility is taken by the Active Group for Environmental Sanitation.

The local community also contributed the land of area 3500 ft2 (325.16m2) for the infrastructure construction, the market value of which is NRs. 30,00,000 ($ 38,938).

Each household whose latrine is connected to the biogas plant pays a monthly fee of NRs 30 (USD 0.63) for the wastewater and sewage disposal. The 5 households benefiting from the biogas each pay NRs. 200 (USD 2.54) per month. The collected fund is deposited in the account of the CBO and is used to pay for the salary of the caretaker of the biogas plant and RBTS. The caretaker is paid NRs. 1,500 (USD 19.04) per month. She is responsible for the day to day operation and maintenance of the bio gas plant and for collecting organic waste from the households to feed into the digester daily. It takes her 3 hours to do the task everyday. Funds are further collected from institutional visitors who want to see the practice and learn from it. Any group of more than 5 people is charged NRs. 1000 ($ 12.7) for their visit to the demonstration site, while any group of less than 5 people is charged NRs.500 ($ 6.34). Another income stream foreseen in the future is the sale of compost and recyclables and that hasn’t yet started.

Existing commitments

Have some organizations/institutions/committees already committed to implement or replicate this solution?

The system has been constructed by community members with support from the local NGO Lumanti Support Group for Shelter and financial and technical assistance from UN-HABITAT Water for Asian Cities Programme Nepal.

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/103779814547660874018/Khokana