Sustainable sanitation pilot project

This fact sheet describes a sustainable sanitation pilot project implemented at the Tarumitra Bio-reserve and Ecology Centre in Patna, Bihar, India. The project, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute (WASHi) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), established an ecological sanitation (ecosan) complex to provide an alternative to open defecation and demonstrate the agricultural benefits of reusing human excreta.

• The pilot project established an ecological sanitation (ecosan) complex at the Tarumitra Bio-reserve and Ecology Centre to serve as an alternative to open defecation. The system is designed to save water compared to waterborne sanitation and increase agricultural productivity by reusing human excreta as soil conditioner and fertilizer.
• The ecosan complex utilizes a three-stream waste management system: urine is collected in a dedicated tank along with greywater from hand washing; faeces are kept in separate processing chambers; and anal-cleansing water is filtered through sand before being channelled into a field. The facility incorporates solar panels for lighting, natural ventilation, and ropes suspended from the ceiling to assist users with mobility issues when squatting.
• The project demonstrates the practical agricultural application of 'humanure', with an expert at Tarumitra using urine as an organic fertilizer for crops such as cabbage, chickpea, onion, potato, and mustard. Additionally, research has begun on the potential use of urine as a pesticide.
• To overcome initial visitor apprehension regarding the ecosan toilets, the project implemented capacity building measures, including the use of visual materials and presentations on closed loop systems and ecosan principles. Tarumitra has subsequently become a local knowledge node for ecological sanitation, providing support to other projects, such as one at the nearby Prakash School.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2014). Sustainable sanitation pilot project. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-tarumitra.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Sustainable sanitation pilot project. 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-tarumitra.pdf.

Wikipedia

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

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2014sustainable, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Sustainable sanitation pilot project}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fs-2014-biharecosan-tarumitra.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }