Ecological Sanitation (Ecosan) and the Kimberley Experience

Abstract: The Hull Street Integrated Housing Project, in Kimberley, is one of the projects supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida, in South Africa. The vision of the project is to provide low cost housing for the people of Kimberley. As a way of ensuring sustainability, the project adopts the Ecological sanitation (Ecosan) approach where urine and faeces are separated from the source. The concept of Ecosan is new to many people around the world. To make the concept workable and acceptable effective implementation strategies are required. At the Hull Street, after the first of the four phases 144 unit houses have been completed all fitted with the UDS. Urine from the UDS as well as the greywater from the kitchen and bathroom are connected to infiltrate into the ground. This arrangement is called the “quick-fix”. The faeces from the houses are sent to the compost yard for composting so that the residents could use the compost in their gardens. This study which involves interview with some selected workers and residents in Hull Street focuses on the modus operandi of the Ecosan unit of the Hull Street project with special emphasis on the methods of human excreta disposal and education strategies.