BU Research Blog

Bournemouth University Research Associate Katie Thompson joined a group of volunteers in April 2017 to initiate a Sustainable Green Toilet Project in Kenya, with the charity ACEF. The aim of this project is to build a new toilet facility for 800 school children (including over 100 orphans) who attend and live at the Brainhouse Academy, a school situated in one of the world’s largest slums (Mathare North) in Nairobi, Kenya.

As well as replacing the existing toilets with newer, cleaner toilet facilities which are equipped with hand washing facilities and lighting, these ‘green’ toilets will also feature an energy recovery system which will produce biogas: a clean and renewable gas which can be safely used for cooking and lighting the school.

This project will deliver multiple benefits including improved sanitation and treatment of toilet wastes to protect the local environment and reduce the risk of children catching deadly diseases, while producing a biogas which will be used in the school’s kitchen to replace the wood and charcoal fires. The project will act as a beacon of sustainable technology within the slum which could be replicated to improve the lives of thousands.

The planning and development stages have begun, with the aim of constructing the toilets early 2018, where BU Research Associate Katie Thompson continues to be involved in. If you would like to know more about the project and keep up to date with any advances then follow our blog via: http://www.wessexportal.co.uk/conservation/ or contact Katie Thompson on thompsonk@bournemouth.ac.uk or Genoveva Esteban gesteban@bournemouth.ac.uk.