This weblog is about a student research and design project

Dear visitor, this weblog tells the story of a research project in 2009. It does not represent the actual current infrastructure solutionsfor the Peepoo bag in Kibera. For up to date information, please visit www.Peepoople.com

“Kibera, an anonymous life”

Dear reader,

Although this blog isn’t updated that often anymore, there has been some development. Although it has nothing to directly with the Peepoo bag, somehow it can be called a cause of that project.

Christopher Makau, the guy who helped us in the slum has written down his stories about living in the slum. These stories accompanied with pictures is assembled as the book called “Kibera, an anonymous life”. Chris, in cooperation with our team sponsored by Simavi, Aqua for all and Peepoople have worked for several months to make this happen.

If you liked our blog, and you found the posts interesting we can certainly recommend to buy this book. It will explain the live in the slum for the point of view of an inhabitant of Kibera.

This book can be bought at the webshop of “waterforum” a Dutch shop where they ask you to send your name and address to the following e-mail address: webvoordeel@novaforum.net
For a small price of € 9,80 (€7,- for the book and €2,80 for transport costs) you can have this book and help at the same time Chris to go back to study! (the full €7,- will benefit Chris!)

Good luck and thank you for reading and following our blog!

Spin-off toilet idea is prize winner!

During the stay in Kenia the project team came up with many ideas to tackle the sanitation problem in urban slum areas. One of the ideas was to create cardboard plug-in toilets to make use of currently unused pit latrines. During the World Water Day in Amsterdam the team received the jury and the audience award! (the article is only in Dutch unfortunately…)

http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/30/ECONOMIE/article/detail/285890/2010/03/25/Eerste-prijs-voor-kartonnen-toilet.dhtml

Description and result of the contest:

http://www.battleofconcepts.nl/battledetails.aspx?m=1&t=2&i=4&bid=108

the end is the start of something bigger

The results of this project are there, but the real challenge starts for Peepoople right now! The design team hopes that the proposals for the Product Service System and the products to manage the after-usage stage (“The Collector Starters Kit”) are used in the implementation. All the best from Delft!

The Collector Starters Kit: box, bag, outfit (with key) and reinforced wheelbarrow.

And a small reminder as a bonus: don’t forget to watch our sleeping experience in Kibera as well! (the embedding in WordPress now finally works

another media update

From the front page of the “Technologie Krant” an short news flash about our project from 6-11-2009. Check the media tab!

more media!

A follow-up article in Dutch newspaper! Check the “media” tab!

Media

Article in the TU newspaper

(unfortunately the article is not reflecting the facts and our feelings on the project…)

the Peepoo collector kit

As promised the results of our work in Kibera. In the Netherlands some small adjustments will be done before the final drawings of the products are made.

Collectors need proper clothing. When walking through the slum collectors want to spread awareness that they are performing a real job and that they have expertise. Dennis and Dickson showing the work coat.

The collector box (unpainted!).

Collector box with the canvas collector bag hanging from the frame. Used when the wheelbarrow is not able to enter the plot and reach the box.

Two small reinforcement bars in the sides of the bag make sure that the bag is easy to handle and that all the Peepoos end up in the bag when emptying.

Collection step by step: slum residents disposing their Peepoos.

Maybe a bit too high?

Collector is able to enter the plot with the Peepoo wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow has a bigger reinforced wheel and a custom paint job.

The wheelbarrow:

Direct emptying in wheelbarrow …

Or emptying in the canvas bag when the wheelbarrow can’t get close.

Leaving the plot with the full Peepoos and using the canvas bag as a cover on the wheelbarrow content.

The heavy duty steel version. More expensive and far more heavy, but it is worth a consideration due to its durability…  The blue metallic paint job is an example of the (unexpected) creativity of Kibera workshops

Slick side view with opened door.

The frame mounts the box to the pole and holds the complete content when the collector bag is used. Two frames are shown which are difficult to produce since precise instructions on paper are not the language workshops speak in Kibera. Some refinements in the Netherlands will be necessary, but the overall idea and working principle is proven.

final products and goodbye meeting

As already posted some days ago, Monday we test the prototype. The output from these tests gave us the insights for making the final products. These re-designs are made on Tuesday and Wednesday. More photos of the testing on Monday:

On Tuesday Marieke and Sacha perform a focus group with women about their toilet behaviour and problems. Of course the baby is present as well.

For your information: this is a big road within Kibera. Truck drivers need to have some skills to deliver goods in the villages.

The welder has mounted a bigger wheel on the wheelbarrow. Now it only needs a custom paint job.

Gekken en dwazen schrijven hun naam op….. watertanks in Kibera.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we work like crazy to finish the products. At Wednesday 16.00h we organise a goodbye meeting at the Grace Revival church in Soweto East (the same location were we began our journey two months ago). We invite everybody who has helped us in any kind of way. Next to having a drink, saying goodbye and thank you, we want to show our products and share thoughts with the people present. Just in time we manage to get everything there. At the time of the following photo Bastiaan and Willem are running from the carpenter to the church to get the final collector box here! The box shown in the middle is the test version of Monday (but now painted).

Fresh from the carpenter, but not properly put in the ground at the exact usage height. These photos will be posted later on. Then it is much easier to understand the concept and the way of use.

Just having a free drink and snack  are also a reason to come to the meeting!

Local youth proudly wearing our coats. Everybody was very enthusiastic and asked us a lot about all our products.

The women can’t wait to become collectors as well!

And of course we had to take photos with every single person who was present.

On Thursday and Friday we detail the product designs and make the plans – together with the locals and the Peepoople project manager – how to handle our deliverables in Kibera in the future when we are not there. We still owe you detailed pictures of all the products, they will be posted very soon! For now we are going to enjoy our last evenings in Nairobi with well deserved dinners and drinks! And figuring out how to transport our prototypes to the Netherlands…

hiding from the corrupt police!

Unfortunately it was too dangerous to take photos, so excuse us for only putting text. Be kind and just read it all the way .

At this time of the year it is more dangerous in Nairobi, since people need to earn and save more money for buying Christmas presents. This means that robbers and corrupt policemen become more active! Since two weeks the police has increased the amount of traffic controls in the evening. When working late in Kibera we prefer to take a taxi but we have to fit with 5, which means we excess the maximum amount officially allowed by the insurance for one car (5 including a driver).

Last week we were pulled over and our driver and ourselves had to show some ID. We told the policeman (and his AK-47) that we were very poor students trying to do good things in Kibera…  Of course it did not help and our taxi driver had to talk to him. The policeman did not give him a fine, because the driver bribed him for 200 Ksh (less than 2 euro).

This week we pass the same control spot three times and the first two times we were able to successfully hide Julie (1.50m). She bend herself on the car floor under a pile of bags, so we were not pulled over. Today however, we were stopped… Julie lies under a pile of bags and we see the same policeman entering the car that we bribed previous week because we were with five. He aims his flashlight on all passengers and we start the same sad story. The driver tells Julie to “hang in there” and – while literally hanging into the car – the policeman has no clue that we are with six people! With sweat in our palms and a big smile we continue the way home.

Unfortunately, when we leave the taxi two hours later to take a nice dinner in town, two cops stop the driver (who then directly is our good friend Simon, since he is not an official taxi driver…) and tell him he can’t stop here to let us out. They take his drivers license and tell us to go the police station if we do not pay them 3000 Ksh! That is because we were with too much people in one car. We just say Simon is a good friend from our apartment and that we are students who have no money. By holding this ground the policemen finally lose  their persistence and Simon is able to bribe them with just 100 Ksh. From politicians to cops, Kenya is corrupt. Especially when the holidays are coming! Nevertheless this corruption is still better than a violent robbery…