Disseminating Best Practices: Learning from Successful Monsoon-Proof Toilet Models

If you’ve grown up in India, you’ve been yelled at by a parent for bringing mud into the house by way of your (sopping!) wet shoes. Of course, you wet your shoes jumping in a puddle, because (oh happy day!) it was raining! This was, of course, before you learnt about the pathogens lurking in that puddle. 

It’s hard to keep buildings, roads, and public spaces clean. During the monsoon, however, it begins to feel impossible. Particularly now, when global warming is supercharging our monsoons to bring us lashing heavy rains that cause flooding, landslides, waterlogging and combinations thereof that threaten our built environment and unleash diseases amongst our populations. 

Of these, damaged toilets create the worst problems – flooded and damaged toilets mean that our streets, our land, local water bodies and potentially our water sources have been contaminated with human excrement and the many pathogens it contains. It is no surprise to anyone when a flood is followed by outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases. Moreover, damaged toilets also subject populations who rely on them to undignified, unsanitary and unsafe alternatives. This can have serious consequences for the health and dignity of people who rely on these facilities.

The answer to this problem: monsoon-proof toilets. 

What are monsoon-proof toilets?

Monsoon-proof toilets are designed to withstand the effects of heavy rainfall and flooding. They can vary in their design, materials, and technology, but they share some common features that make them resilient and adaptable to changing weather conditions: 

• Raised platforms or stilts that elevate the toilet above the ground level and prevent water from entering the structure.
• Sloped roofs or covers that divert rainwater away from the toilet and prevent leakage or seepage.
• Reinforced walls and floors that resist erosion and corrosion from water and moisture.
• Ventilated pits or chambers that allow air circulation and reduce odours and flies.
• Biogas or composting systems that convert human waste into useful resources such as fertiliser or fuel.
• Waterless or low-water technologies that reduce water consumption and wastewater generation.

As you can imagine, switching over to monsoon-proof toilets means the communities can realise several benefits: 

• Improved health and well-being of people who use them by reducing the risk of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis.
• Environmental protection by preventing pollution and contamination of water sources such as rivers, lakes, wells, and groundwater.
• Improved dignity and privacy for people who use them by providing a clean and comfortable space for their personal hygiene needs.
• Promoting social inclusion and gender equality by ensuring that everyone, especially women, girls, elderly, and disabled people, have access to safe and appropriate sanitation facilities.
• Supporting economic development by creating opportunities for income generation, employment, and entrepreneurship in the sanitation sector.

Do these monsoon-proof toilets already exist? 

Yes! As you can see, monsoon-proof toilets aren’t rocket science – they just involve a few basic upgrades. If you look around in your own city, you’ll probably find a few examples of monsoon-proof toilets. 

Having said that, there are a number of noteworthy projects that are breaking the mould on what monsoon-proof toilets can achieve. Sulabh International, a social organisation in India, has developed and implemented various toilet models that are flood-resistant and suitable for monsoon-prone regions. These models include raised toilets with reinforced construction materials. Ecosan Toilets use a sustainable approach by separating urine and faeces and converting them into valuable resources like fertiliser. They are designed to be flood-resistant and have been implemented in areas prone to flooding, such as Bihar.

In Odisha, a state that faces cyclones and floods every year, a social enterprise called Svadha has created a network of local entrepreneurs who provide customised toilet solutions for rural households. The entrepreneurs conduct surveys to understand the customers’ needs and preferences, and offer them a range of toilet designs, colours, materials and features to choose from. The entrepreneurs also provide after-sales services and hygiene education.

These are just some of the examples of monsoon-proof toilets that we can learn from. There are many more models that have been developed by local communities, NGOs, social enterprises, and government agencies, which we don’t know about. This is where these agencies need to put in extra effort into documenting and disseminating both their learnings and best practices for other projects to learn from. Agencies can start by: 

• Documenting and sharing their design, construction, operation, and maintenance processes and outcomes.
• Conducting field visits and exchange programs to observe and experience their functionality and impact.
• Organising workshops and training to transfer their knowledge and skills to other stakeholders.
• Supporting their replication and scaling up through advocacy, funding, partnerships, and policy reforms.

The Awareness Gap 

In India, we don’t talk about toilets – it is considered a ‘rude’ topic of conversation. As we’ve seen in the past century, talking about rude and taboo topics is a good thing – everything from overthrowing colonialism, battling apartheid, women’s liberation, LGBTQ+ rights… it all came about from discussion on topics that were once considered taboo or rude. 

What we talk about matters. 

For 3 years now, Harpic and News18 have come together to create Mission Swachhta aur Paani, a platform dedicated to talking about toilets, raising awareness about toilets, and creating a repository of information about toilets, and toilet adjacent topics. Mission Swachhta aur Paani is a movement that champions the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets. It advocates equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and strongly believes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility. 

Sanitation is a human right. It is one of those things we don’t think about, unless we’re in need of a toilet, and can’t find one. The Swachh Bharat Mission took care of the access issue – today, we have clean and safe toilets for every Indian. However, there is still work to be done when it comes to changing behaviours and attitudes, and building toilet infrastructure that doesn’t fail us during the monsoons, when we need it most. 

Join us here to learn how you can help move the needle towards a Swasth and Swachh Bharat.