By Bikash Sangraula

KHOKANA, Nepal (Asia Water Wire)  - Until two years back, Khokana was best known for its controversial annual festival of pinching goats to death. The villagers believe this helps drive away the spell cast on them by evil spirits.

   Only an hour's drive from the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, Khokana still remains true to its medieval past. In fact, its quaint customs, age-old rituals, and a stubborn reluctance to change attract many curious onlookers.

   Today, Khokana holds a surprise for the visitors: it has embraced the most eco-friendly sanitation Nepal has seen till to date.  The ancient village, located in the southern part of the Kathmandu valley, now boasts of 40 Ecological Sanitation (ECOSAN) toilets that are affordable, hygienic and, in Khokana's case, a cultural revolution.

   Before these toilets were put in place, most of the villagers used to answer the calls of nature right in their fields. None of the 500 houses had toilets. That way, members of the predominantly farming community believed, they were ensuring a regular supply of fertiliser, whatever its health hazards.

   With the sanitation toilets, the villagers are now disinfecting human waste before using it as fertilizer. They are also conserving water in a way that could set an example for the people living in water-scarce Kathmandu. On a daily average, a Kathmandu resident converts 10 liters of water into non-recyclable waste by flushing it down the commode.

   "The use of human waste as fertiliser is an ancient practice in Kathmandu," says Upendra Poudel, engineer at the Environment and Public Health Organisation (ENPHO), who designed the toilets. "By using ECOSAN toilets, the people in Khokana are preventing agricultural produce from being infected with germs present in human waste. Also, they are using very little water in their toilets, something that can be emulated by people living in our cities that face acute water shortage."

   With over two million residents, the Kathmandu valley needs 290 million litres of water daily (MLD) for drinking and sanitation.

   But the supply stands at a mere 70 MLD, and there are no new projects likely to be completed soon. The multi-million dollar Melamchi drinking water project designed to pump 210 MLD to the valley has been hit by a corruption scandal, and has been suspended after foreign aid for it, in particular funds coming from the Norwegian government, was pulled out after the Feb. 1 royal coup.

   ENPHO, a non-governmental organisation working for clean environment and sanitation since 1990, introduced ECOSAN toilets as a pilot project in Khokana in 2002.

   Back then, 10 toilets were constructed in the village. In over two years, the number has increased four-fold. With 40 households using toilets, rest of the villagers no longer feel comfortable answering the calls of nature in the fields. Most of them come over to the toilets, and having a toilet of their own field has now become a top priority.

   An ECOSAN toilet costs 15,000 Nepali rupees (211 U.S. dollars), 60 percent of which is borne by WaterAid, an international non-government organisation.

   In the ECOSAN toilet, solid and liquid waste are collected separately in plastic containers installed below a specially designed toilet pan. While people in Kathmandu use water to keep a commode clean, converting the used water itself into waste, ECOSAN toilets use ash to keep the toilet clean.

   "Ash raises the PH (alkaline level) of solid human waste and kills germs," says Poudel. Once full, ash is poured in and the container is sealed for six months before the waste is ready to be used as fertiliser. During the period, another pan is installed in the toilet.

   Meanwhile, liquid waste, collected in a different container, is mixed with water before being sprinkled over the fields. "Urine has very low germ content while it is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These chemicals are instrumental in the growth of plants," explains Poudel.

   Shreewani Maharjan and her husband Buddhi Ram are farmers in Khokana. Their farm produces potato, cauliflower, radish, cabbage, ginger, turnip, and garlic to sell in Kathmandu's bustling vegetable bazaars.

   The Maharjans have been rigorously following directions given by ENPHO for the last two years. "The toilet has ensured good health for both the farmers and consumers," beams Shreewani.

   "We realise now that we were actually doing a disservice to our customers in Kathmandu by infecting vegetables with germs. Now, we have a clear conscience," adds Buddhi Ram, her husband.

   According to ENPHO, a gramme of solid human waste contains 100 parasite eggs, 1,000 parasite cysts, 1,000,000 bacteria and 10 million viruses.

   To meet its vegetable needs, Kathmandu relies heavily on the produce of neighbouring villages like Khokana. Farmers in most of these villages use human waste as fertiliser.

   With the ECOSAN toilets, villagers in Khokana seem to be getting more and more innovative and health-conscious too.  The villagers are using Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) technology to clean water before drinking.

   Water-filled plastic bottles being heated under the sun are a common sight in the village. SODIS has proved very useful Khokana as most villagers cannot afford precious firewood to heat water and few can afford water filters. Water is heated under the sun for several hours before it is ready for drinking.

   "We no longer drink water directly from taps," says Gopal Dongol, advisor of the local People's Welfare Organisation. (END/IPSAP/AWW/JS/110805)