A what museum? A museum showing off the evolution of toilets over the centuries? Are you kidding? This sounds like any number of weird museums located in little tiny towns and run by eccentrics.
Actually, we probably wouldn't have searched out the place except that our friend Fred is beyond passionate about sanitation issues. So yesterday we headed out to the museum, located a long way from the tourist meccas of Delhi.
We were really impressed. The museum is run by Sulabh International, an Indian based social service organization which works on environmental sanitation, waste management and social reforms. It has installed about 8,000 public toilets in India. We see the Sulabh presence almost daily, since Sulabh toilets are located at many of the Delhi Metro stations. The organization counts 50,000 volunteers, making it the one of the largest non-profit organizations in India.
"Sulabh Sauchalayas has provided sanitation services to ten million people at very low cost..."
----Bimal Jalan: Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Sulabh promotes the mission everywhere, and is on the hunt internationally for added funding to promote the cause. The picture below from the Taj Mahal:
In addition to the old toilets display, the museum showcases a wide range of low cost toilets for use in high poverty areas, as well as new technology to transform crap into usable energy sources.
The museum is located in a poor and isolated urban area of Delhi. In front of the museum is a large toilet facility used daily by about a thousand local residents. All waste is transformed into positive use.
The picture below shows the person who took us around the facility; he's been at Sulabh since the beginning, about 20 years, and he has been one of the real pioneers on sanitation in India. At the museum biogas is used for cooking and for the generation of electricity.
Residual water from excrement is clear and safe for all except drinking after passing through this filtration system. (The sedimentation and aeration tanks didn't fit in the picture.)
The water is used for irrigating flowers and vegetables on the museum grounds.
Sanitation is a huge issue in India. Half of the population does not have access to sanitation facilities, and India has a gigantic waste problem. One of the biggest initial and enduring images many people have of India is the trash, waste and garbage. This is a society that has gotten used to living around trash, garbage and human and animal waste. Government doesn't supply trash cans or have sanitation workers We live in one of the fanciest areas in all of Delhi, and there's a lot of trash very close by. Sulabh International is trying to help the Indian government lead a cultural and economic transformation of living conditions. A steep hill ahead.
The picture below was taken on the side of a Delhi road piled high with trash, garbage and waste. It is a grazing space for the multitude of cows and dogs and occasionally pigs living in the city. This is not at all an us usual site in cities and rural areas alike.
Daunting. This is just one more example of the magnitude of the challenges facing India. And one more example about folks working hard to make this world a better place.
There's a joke here, of course, but the hygiene and sanitation issues are enormous. Kudos to trip to the toilet museum!
ReplyDelete