The ecological toilet for slum areas Ecoloove

Since 2007, industrial designer Annamaja Segtnan from Stockholm has been working on the non-profit project Ecoloove, which was about designing, testing and manufacturing toilets for people living in slum areas in Ahmedabad in Western India.

The women in these areas suffer from not having available toilets during workdays. Their culture prevents them from relieving themselves outdoors in daylight which also makes the women susceptible to illnesses.

Annamajas idea is to produce a simple portable ecological toilet that women can buy with a micro-loan and provide for money. The toilet separates liquid and solid waste which then can be sold and used as fertilizer.

Annamajas idea is an example of a new kind of development aid. When a woman buys the toilet, she solves a need in society as well as earns her own money when selling the fertilizer. The project set up the production in India with local stakeholders.