BSS, Rajshahi :
Mojibur Rahman, 45, of Jhinaipukur, a drought-prone village under Nachole Upazila of Chapainawabganj district, has become happy over getting an Eco-sun toilet that brings multifarious benefits to him.
In terms of water-stress condition, the toilet, a promoted non- conventional and specialized hygienic latrine, has created scopes of saving water coupled with reusing of their excreta and urine.
“We have been reusing collected urine and excreta in crop farming successfully for around one year last,” Mojibur Rahman made the exposure before a group of visiting journalists who went there to see for themselves the toilet’s merits and demerits on Tuesday.
Like Rahman, 11 other households of the remote village are using the similar characteristic latrines that created demands of the venture among other neighborhoods.
NGO Forum for Public Health, which promotes the technology in the extreme dried area for the first time under its pilot project titled “Promotion of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene in Hard to Reach Areas of Rural Bangladesh,” arranged the media field trip.
“We have learnt the process of preparing organic fertilizer from excreta and urine through the latrine,” added Mujibur Rahman while narrating the toilet’s features.
He has started producing wheat, brinjal, tomato, bottle gourds and some other vegetables through applying the fertilizer. In some cases, yield has been almost doubled than the use of chemical fertilizers.
“We are spraying one-liter urine mixed with five liters water on the farming grounds as urea fertilizer and getting better yields instead of using any chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” he elaborated.
On the occasion, Engineer Rafiur Rahman from NGO Forum told the journalists that the 12 beneficiary families adapted the technology easily and enjoying extra benefits of the toilet costing Taka 17,000 each. “We are trying to replicate the scheme among other adjacent areas”.
“Preparation of organic fertilizer from human excreta is a positive idea both for its safe and eco-friendly disposal and boosting agricultural production,” Additional Director of Department of Agriculture Extension, Nurul Amin said.
The safe strategy of using human feces as organic fertilizers can be eco-friendly and it will support our agriculture to be a sustainable one.
The government should adopt a policy for use of human excreta, allocate budgets to develop affordable and appropriate technologies and provide subsidies to the poorest.
Bahar Uddin Mridha, Executive Engineer of Department of Public Health Engineering, said such type of schemes will sure supplement the hundred percent sanitation coverage campaigns.
Prior to the field trip, NGO Forum for Public Health held a media advocacy meeting styled “Right to Watsan- Get It for All” at its office conference hall in Rajshahi city highlighting the necessity of ensuring safe drinking water and sanitary latrine to the hard to reach poor community.
Head of Advocacy Information Service Joseph Halder, Manager Shah Dipak Kumar, Senior Advocacy Officer Jobaida Akter and Programme Facilitator Sabit Jahan Shishir spoke on the occasion.
