Punjab Lioness First Toilet Project in India!

I am pleased to announce the first Punjab Toilet project by the Punjab Lioness Foundation completed. Construction of 10 composting toilets were provided for families in the village of Chak Hakim, near Phagwara, India. Pictures of the project show the construction of a 2 pit composting design with a free standing enclosure which contains a squat down pour and flush toilet that only uses 2 liters of water! The cost of each toilet is $300 Canadian dollars.

Architectural Drawing of Composting Solution:


Contact Sulabh Social Service Organization for your own village needs or email Mandip at punjabtoilets@gmail.com or via Contact Web Form at www.unitedstarminds.com

Official Launch of the Canadian Toilet Organization!

The Canadian Toilet Organization's official launch was hosted at the United Nations University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on 21st, October 2008 see www.inweh.unu.edu

As a founding member I am pleased to announce the official launch of the Canadian Toilet Organization (CTO) (www.canadiantoilet.org) a non-profit organization which is the Canadian Chapter of the World Toilet Organization. The CTO is focused on creating awareness of sanitation issues in Canada (yes, you will be surprised but Canada has sanitation issues of it's own!) and also focuses on international development projects, the first initiative being the Punjab Lioness Project undertaken in the village of Chak Hakim, near Phagwara, Punjab, India. I was invited to present my Punjab project at the United Nations University.

Picture of me with Jack Sim, President of World Toilet Organization during a visit to see the "Sitting Pretty" Guelph Museum Toilet Exhibit. Full story in the Guelph Tribune.

India Trip - Toilets, Manure, Power and Liberation!

During our recent trip to India in May 2008, my husband and I made an interesting trip to the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation in Delhi to find out more about their toilet designs and the cost to deploy toilets in villages in the State of Punjab. We were warmly greeted by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak the founder and his team. The purpose of our trip was to inspect the Sulabh Shauchalaya-technology, which we are convinced is technologically appropriate, socially and culturally acceptable and more importantly economically affordable for everyone in India to have a toilet. The toilet requires only TWO litres of water to flush and can function even where there is not sufficient water available. The toilet design does not require the service of scavengers nor does it pollute air and as a bonus it provides manure and power! The toilet technology can be cleaned and easily maintained by house-owners themselves. The two pits work alternately. The toilet technology can be easily upgraded i.e. can be easily connected to a sewer system when it is introduced in the area. See below for detailed pictures of our tour. The Government of India, State governments, various national, bilateral and international agencies like UNICEF, WHO,UNDP / World Bank etc have accepted that Sulabh Shauchalaya (twin pit pour-flush toilet) is the most appropriate low-cost technological option available today. They have suggested the adoption of this system in India and other developing countries. The Government of India has included low-cost sanitation as a component in the Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) Programme. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has also started giving financial assistance for low-cost sanitation to various categories of beneficiaries. Sulabh is not just about toilets it is a leading non-governmental organization which takes up liberation of scavengers by converting dry/bucket privies into Sulabh Shauchalaya(twin pit pour-flush toilet) and in doing so Sulabh then rehabilitates and liberates the scavengers. Sulabh organizes programmes which we were given a tour of at their facility, to train them in various vocations such as driving, mechanics, tailoring, typing, computer, cane work, carpentry, masonary etc. They are also educated on health, sanitation and personal hygiene. Sulabh established the training institutes exclusively for scavengers at Patna and Mahavir Enclave, New Delhi. It has also established such an institute at Jambol Distt., Thane, in collaboration with the State government and is running it successfully.

Tour of Sulabh International and their Toilet Technology in May 2008

Tourist's Perspective of Toilets in India!

Good friends of ours John and Roby from the UK toured India in October 2007 on vacation, and Kuldip my sister and I requested that they document their India "toilet experience" from a tourist's perspective. The lack of toilet sanitation in India is a known issue, but it is not something that Indian residents or tourist's openly talk about and no one appears to want to address the problem, so we thought we would take an opportunity to hear it as it is, right from the streets of India!

India Toilet Experience - provided by John and Roby from the UK:

Background

Roby and I travelled through Northern India in October 2007. Our trip took in the Himalayas (based on Leh), the Punjab (Amritsar), Agra and Rajasthan and the city of Delhi.

It’s fair to say that, for the most part, we experienced a sanitised tourist-friendly version of this fantastic part of India as we travelled in an air-conditioned car with our own attentive driver. However, we often went off the beaten track, insisting on taking the long way round, visiting the outskirts behind the temples and palaces. We bought stuff in local markets and chemists, joined in at a local Dusserha celebration and were welcomed and fed at a party where people were celebrating the birth of a child.

Punjab Lioness Toilet Foundation

With the Punjab Lioness Toilet Foundation in mind, we tried to speak to people we met along the way and we’ve tried to illustrate the lack of toilet facilities with some photos. Of course I’m aware some of our comments may be naïve but they’re given with a good heart and I hope they may be of some use.

Several people we spoke to questioned the need for such foundations in the Punjab claiming it to be one of, if not the most, prosperous region of India. Everyone we spoke to agreed that there is a dire need for toilet facilities. Everyone we spoke to were interested in the programme, particularly when I explained the history and connection to the Lioness. Next time, we could take business cards and brochures and we could engage even more people!

The reality is that 700 million citizens of India have no access to proper toilet, washing or drinking water facilities. They use rivers, streams, fields, gutters, pieces of waste ground or the roadside as their toilet.

For many rural people, the routine is for women to go to one field and men to another, to take a mug of water and perhaps a rag or a piece of newspaper and, preserving modesty where possible, go to the toilet.

We saw, from the window of the train or the car, men, women and children squatting in stinking pieces of waste ground or at the side of the railway tracks. We saw them washing next to old hand pumps or carrying drinking water in pots on their heads from the well to their village along hard dry roads.

People were always willing to talk to me and here’s what some of them said:

Benu Bindra (Amritsar)

‘One of the problems I see is that of the non-urban women who come into Amritsar from the villages. They are more conservative and don’t have the confidence of the urban women who will quite easily go into a hotel and use the facilities. They are embarrassed to go into these places so they go wherever they can. Amritsar needs a programme of clean, well signposted public toilets, some for men and some for women.’

Iftaqar (Agra)

‘The man drinks dirty water and he watches his children drink dirty water. He goes to the toilet in the fields and he watches his children go to the toilet in the fields. He is resigned to this; he accepts it and he will never revolt’.

Islam Ahmed (Agra)

‘If I have to say anything positive, I can say that it’s good fertiliser for the fields. On a more serious note, women are more shy and reserved and try to hide in the bushes. I know of two women who have been bitten by snakes. It’s a vast job. Villages need investment, sewage pipes and connections to water supplies but the government concentrate on the big cities first, like Delhi’

Nirmal Singh (Beas)

‘I don’t mind using the fields. The men go one way, the women go the other. In fact, we have a toilet but we only use it in the dark or for emergencies. And it takes forever to get the tank emptied. Maybe some women have a different view but for me it’s not a problem. If the wheat or the sugar cane doesn’t grow, I have a big problem’

Joginder (Bundi)

‘For this type of programme to work, you need to come here and give money to individual families and say “Here, this is to put in a toilet. If you do this, we’ll give the same to your neighbours”. If you give the money to the government, there will be no toilets, only corruption’

Umash Kumar Sharma (Jaipur)

‘In the village where I lived when I was a child, we use the fields and it’s not good enough. It’s a dreadful problem for old people, anyone who is disabled and for women who are heavily pregnant. Time has moved on and it’s no longer good enough. Each village should have at least one proper toilet for men and one for women, clean and properly maintained’.

Preeti (Delhi)

‘The women from my village are very reserved. They often try to shield their faces in public and would definitely cover their faces if you went to speak to them. They go in the fields but they are uncomfortable about it and about the idea of a man from the village seeing them. We have different fields for men and women but some men do not respect this’.

Conclusion

From speaking to people, here are some thoughts on ensuring that the programme is a success. These points are in no particular order and are based on what people said to us.

Many citizens are apathetic to the problem and accept it as the norm for the present and the future, for them and their families.

The problem of using waste ground/fields is even more acute for the elderly, disabled and women in the latter stages of pregnancy. Small children can be scared if they need to go in the night, needing to wake up a parent.

There is a culture of corruption, especially among local politicians. Providing funds to them wouldn’t mean they would use them to build toilets.

Central government, when it does act, will concentrate on the big cities before the rural communities.

Rural women are generally more reserved and conservative. The idea of squatting in public is one which is uncomfortable and undignified. Concentrate on these communities.

There are sometimes government funding/grants which can be obtained. Quite recently, in Rajasthan, individuals could apply for a grant which covered 30% of the cost of providing a toilet and tank to their homes. Investigate this.

Use local materials/labour. Many people we spoke to said they had no money but would be happy to work on projects which would benefit them and their children.

Raise the money, go there, choose a community, work with local people and materials, gain momentum, provide and start again.

Toilet Passion, Why? My Personal Journal and Recollection of Toilet Incidents

I had never imagined that I would become a Toilet Activist! It was in March 2007 that I had my epiphany to build toilets in Punjab, India. However it is important to note that once I had committed I started experiencing a series of recollections from my past years that just reaffirmed why I was being led down this path. Today, I continue to see signs of "toilet messages" call them coincidences or synchronicity but there are far too many to ignore. Read on and enjoy!

My Historical Recollection and Phobia Of The Lack of Toilet Accessibility.

1970's
Summer school vacation periods involved working the farms i.e. strawberry, potato, green beans and apple fields with my mother in the UK for extra cash. This was my first introduction to no toilet accessibility amongst fellow fruit and vegetable pickers.

1977
During my first trip to India at the age of 13, I remember how awful it was to not have the luxury of a toilet when I stayed at my aunt's house in Athouli Pind. I remember my mother had packed sanitary towels for me the size of a baby diaper (now that I remember, I believe they actually were diapers/nappy's as we called them in the UK!).

I was mortified when my cousin's told me that I had to go to toilet in the sugar cane fields. And off I trotted, with my toilet paper in hand, spending a good few minutes determining the "best location" before I did my call of nature! Not a nice experience, especially as I had to hide the toilet paper amongst the leafs as no one used paper in the fields and they would know it was me!

August 1987
During a trip to India in 1987 with my sister's I recall Kuldeep my sister and her sister-in-law Kamal urgently needed to go for a "pee". The options available were that we either turn back home to my aunt's house where we were visiting or pee in the sugar cane field on route. The sugar cane field option was the easiest, until the local dogs decided to chase them out of the field, which I must say was one of the many hilarious moments we have experienced in India!

April 2004
Attended a Government supported Canada/India Trade Mission on how to do business in India. During this trip I remember distinctly how I would plan my entire daily activities to ensure that I would have access to a toilet facility, especially in Punjab!

March 2007
When I was first inspired to build toilets in India (review Punjab Lioness History below for detailed explanation!)

April 2007
I was planning to attend a United Nations conference in Toronto on how to do business with the UN and did a web search on United Nations, the first article that was displayed was Sanitation Needs in India, and why girls in Grade 8 stop attending school because of the lack of toilets in schools. I resonated with this article as I could not imagine any young girl not having access to a toilet facility in a school, especially during a menstrual cycle, it is unthinkable, how females are expected to cope in those situations.

May 2007
Searching the web on the topic of toilets in India and came across a web site Sulabh International, a non-profit organization that has been dedicated to providing millions of less fortunate families with toilets in India. Also realized that in November 2007 India was hosting the World Toilet Summit in Delhi, India.

June 2007
I recalled several years ago my son was having a conversation and had asked his aunt Rashpal "What's a Lioness", I remember because a big joke was made at the fact that he did not know at his age! At the same time my son had turned around to his cousin and in rebuttal had asked "what's a urinal"!

July 2007
Realized that there was an organization called the World Toilet Organization headquartered in Singapore. The annual World Toilet Day is on November 19th, one day after my mother passing away.

August 2007
The World Toilet Organization web site featured world maps of countries supporting the initiative. Ironically the Canadian flag did not appear to be shown. Why?

September 2007
I was frantically searching for some documentation in a file folder in my home office and came across a file containing a black and white hand etched drawing that my son Amardeep had created in grade 9. I liked it so much that I had filed it away without remembering 7 years ago. I found it recently and it depicts a Lion - the picture is shown below!

September 11, 2007
Woke up this morning and decided to do a "Google I Feel Lucky Search" for Punjab Lioness. I discovered that all names have a special meaning in Sikhism. Parents choose the best name according to their wish. A child is normally named in the spirit what the parents want the child to be. Singh means Lion and Kaur means Lioness! Tegh Bahadur means, brave swordsman, Amar Singh means, Eternal Lion, Diljit Kaur means, Heart winning lioness and so on. The relevance is that I am of Sikh culture and my son is named Amar, he was the one that created the drawing of the Lion below.

October 22nd, 2007
I contacted Jack Sim, the Founder of the World Toilet Organization to determine if any organization was actively involved in Canada with his organization. He advised me that a movie producer Ari Grief in Toronto was producing a movie on "Toilets" and that he was contemplating starting the Canadian Toilet Organization (CTO) and that we should sync up our activities.

November 1st, 2007
I was travelling back from San Francisco with a business associate and decided to pick up a book from the airport bookstore. I was intrigued by the title of a book called Beyond Coincidence - Amazing Stories of Coincidence and the Mystery Behind Them by Martin Plimmer and Brian King. I randomley opened up the book on page 196 entitled "Toilet Talk" with a topic on the long controversy amongst scholars and drunkards about the orgin of the word "crap" and that although Thomas Crapper ran a successful sanitary ware business in England he did NOT invent the lavatory! Need I say more, I chuckled and purchased it as it was another friendly reminder!

November 17th, 2007
I had a phone conversation with Ari Grief (producer of FLUSH toilet documentary movie) and advised him that I had done some research on him and was intrigued by the fact that he had family linage to Louis Mayer one of the co-founders and head of Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), in his family tree, only from the perspective that MGM's icon is a Lion! Ari eluded that he would give me one better, his name Ari in Hebrew meant Lion!

November 19th, 2007
As I drove to work today, a car drove by me on the highway with a number plate "Up Flush"!

November, 2007
Just realized I live at exit 299 off the highway signed African Lion Safari!

December 2007
When my mother passed away I found two UK 10 pence coins in our study on the table. My son Amar claimed he had found them in a purse I did not often use and put them there. I had placed them on our fireplace mantle and forgotten them. One early morning in December, I was sitting drinking my morning tea, and got up instantly went directly to the fireplace and picked up the coins. I flipped them over and realized that the back of the coins had lion emblems!

2008 - The Lion Keeps Appearing or should I say Roaring!

- Noticed I have a Celestial Seasonings Tea fridge magnet with a Lion sipping a cup of tea and the quote - "What is strength without a double share of wisdom?"

- My neighbor asks if I have started advertising on the back of trucks as he saw a sign that read "In Loving Memory Mandeep" and a large Lion's Head!

- My son started a job at the Royal Bank of Canada and as you may be aware their logo is a lion's head. Anyway he mentioned to me that the first day of his employment, a training package was given to him which read "Amardeep SanSher"! Sher in Indian means Lion!

- The Guelph Museum have an exhibit "Sitting Pretty" about the history of toilets in Canada and I noticed there was a roll of old toilet paper packaged with a Lions head as the logo!

- I was watching a famous people cribs program (actually my son had the TV on and I was watching!) and it was Sir Richard Branson. Well when the show stopped the camera zoomed out and there half butt naked was Sir Richard Branson looking out towards the ocean on a composting toilet!

- Jan 2009 - Met with a local Government agency to discuss how the Canadian Toilet Organization may help in keeping toilets out of landfill sites. I was sent the address and when I searched Google Maps, the building is next to Lyons Park!

- Feb 2, 2009 - This has to be the best one so far! I have used W H Murray's quote quite often and part of the couplet by Goethe "Whatever You Can Do Or Dream You Can, Begin It. Boldness Has Genius, Power and Magic In It!". Well I was researching historical facts and the research led me back to W H Murray and a page that mentions he wrote one of his books in prison on the back and front side of Toilet Paper!

- March 2009 - WOW, just watched SlumDog Millionaire, and there again the Toilet scene near the opening of the movie. The child jumps into the "poop" in the Mumbai river and runs to get an autograph by famous Indian actor Amitabh Bachan. Someone also told me that Danny Boyle has an affinity to Toilet Scenes. Here's a quote from an interview: "he discusses a particularly jovial scene from the movie involving the young protagonist and an outhouse crap bucket." “It’s a British film, you see, so you’ve got to have a toilet scene. No other nation on the planet is so obsessed with toilets like the British are.”

- April 2009 - Researching Alexander Graham Bell the inventor of the telephone and realized he too was researching composting toilets!