Hi!
The next phase of the project focused on prototyping, with the design needing to meet several critical requirements:
- For the Biodigester team: The fecal sludge needed to be stored in a container that was cool, airtight, and capable of holding waste for up to one month before being emptied.
- For the Transport team: The sludge required an easily accessible tap-point to ensure safe handling for transport operators.
- For the users: The toilet had to be accessible to all, minimize the risk of infection and exposure to sludge or odors, and withstand flooding.
To address these needs, a minimum viable product (MVP) was built in just one week. This initial prototype helped assess how the requirements could be met and revealed challenges during construction and testing. Early feedback from this phase is now being incorporated into the final design.
The final product, currently under development, uses locally sourced materials. It features a toilet or squatting bowl connected to an underground storage tank, along with attachment points for a ventilation shaft and a tap for emptying the tank.
