sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola-4710eb57c87474bc.pdf

A pilot project in Burmi Tola, Bihar, India, successfully installed flood-resistant urine-diverting dry toilets (UDDT) in 38 households across Burmi Tola and Rupauliya. By sharing construction responsibilities and utilizing community mobilizers and agricultural trials, the project overcame initial resistance to 'humanure'. The initiative improved local health, reduced medical costs, and specifically enhanced the privacy and hygiene of women and girls.

• A pilot project in Burmi Tola, Bihar, implemented flood-resistant household ecological sanitation (ecosan) systems to combat open defecation and enable the reuse of excreta as agricultural fertilizer. The project targeted a community that experienced flash flooding three to four times a year, with water levels reaching 30-60 cm in the village and land remaining waterlogged for up to three months.
• The project utilized a urine-diverting dry toilet (UDDT) model, which consists of a raised squatting platform approximately 0.9 metres above ground with two separate chambers for faeces and jerry cans for urine collection. Construction costs and labor were shared: the project funded the waterproofed substructure, while households provided the plinth, sand, labor, and the superstructure, which was often built from bamboo and straw.
• Implementation faced resistance from some residents who preferred waterborne toilets, were repulsed by handling excreta, or preferred open defecation. Acceptance grew through the influence of a community mobilizer, Vinita Kumari, support from the West Champaran district magistrate and agricultural expert Mr Chintan Raj, and informal agricultural trials where residents compared the yields of treated urine against chemical fertilizers.
• The project resulted in the installation of toilets for 31 of 37 households in Burmi Tola and 7 households in Rupauliya. Reported benefits include improved health, reduced spending on medicine, and significant advantages for women and girls, who previously limited food and water intake to avoid open defecation and now have better privacy for menstruation hygiene management (MHM).

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola-4710eb57c87474bc.pdf. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola-4710eb57c87474bc.pdf. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola-4710eb57c87474bc.pdf |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendseifs2014biharecosanburmitola4710eb57c87474bcpdf, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola-4710eb57c87474bc.pdf}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-burmitola.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }