Healthy Home

Participants of Rotary Club Funded Healthy Home Project

Family Toilet Before Family Ecosan Toilet After

Project Implementation:

This healthy home project was a pilot project Well of Life Community Development, Inc. implemented in partnership with Rotary Club Pag-Asa Davao. An association was formed and 20 beneficiaries were selected to receive a solar plug and play home unit with two LED lamps, and Ecosan toilet, rice hull stove and a Biosand water filter. The participants had a counterpart of Php 150 ($3.50) per month for a year to be saved for a replacement battery if needed. The participants also came for a meeting every Friday for a year to learn a physical and spiritual topic which they in turn were encouraged to teach to 5 of their neighbours.

Solar: Solar electrification is a safe and sustainable solution to the lighting needs of the community and can be implemented on a household level. It is a wiser alternative to commonly used kerosene lamp as these lamps are said to have the equivalency of smoking 2 packs of cigarettes, which is a less efficient and more expensive light source, and a perennial health and fire hazard. Solar lamps increase the effective working hours for income generating activities and allow students to do school work thus improving literacy and education of communities.

Rice Hull Stoves: Rice hull stoves are more economical to use than gas stoves, it uses a very readily available waste product in most areas (rice husks). Trees need not be cut for firewood or charcoal to be used in cooking. These stoves used in large scale will protect the mountain forest and prevent flooding in Davao. It is practically smokeless so it’s easier on the health of the user and their family! The by-product of this device is ash which can be used in the garden as soil conditioner or used in our Ecosan toilet to dehydrate faeces, which in turn, can be used as fertilizer.

Ecosan Toilets: Many people are open defecating in these areas and disease and sickness spread easily making it hard for children to function well n school and it effects also the strength of adults who work in the fields. The concept of Ecological Sanitation or simply Ecosan is based on the fact that sanitation problems could be solved in a more sustainable manner and efficiently if the nutrients contained in excreta and wastewater were recycled and reused rather than being released to contaminate the environment (groundwater aquifers, rivers and other outlets). The sanitation systems used today are based on the misinterpretation that human excreta are a waste of limited use which must be disposed of. Ecosan is a new paradigm which deemed clean human excreta and waste water as resources that can be recycled, treated and reused in a healthy way – mainly as organic fertilizer.

Testimonies:

"I’m Analiza Lisao from Kiopao Cluster. We are three living in our house. The project I have is such a blessing because the project is nice. I really like the Rice Hull stove because if it rain I can just cook easily and it cooks our food and rice so well. The fire is not too hot but balance, I just make sure that the rice hull is not wet. If the rice hull is wet it is so smoky like the first time I used it. In regards with the Solar, it gives bright light to our house unlike before when we were using lamp. I’m thankful now that I don’t have to buy gas anymore. In regards with the Ecosan toilet, I like it because we don’t have to go outside. I just need to maintain the cleanliness because the ecosan is nice and clean when you maintain the cleanliness."

"I’m Eden Diarog from Pag-asa Mabayang. There are 13 of us who live in a household. By persevering to attend the meeting, the projects are such a blessing for me and my family. What I like about the Ecosan Toilet, it is nice and not stinky because it uses ashes. It also keeps us from going far outside just to use CR. With the Rice Hull Stove, I like it because we don't need to go look for woods and dry them. The Solar saves our money from spending Php 5 a day for gas. It is also helpful for my student every night for studying. My family was happy about the projects and they easily adapted it."

We are in need of partners to help the LMK Community Development Association secure more units to help reduce sickness and promote healthier living.