Easy Latrine

IDEA 2010 Best in Show winner

For 2.5 billion people globally and 84 percent of rural Cambodia, access to affordable sanitation is a major problem.  Lack of adequate sanitation causes more deaths than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined, yet sanitation purchases are generally seen as status-based rather than health-based investments.  A simple design solution is revolutionizing the field, dropping the costs of an age-old product and mobilizing an industry to impact the well-being of millions of households.  The Easy Latrine is the first $30, affordable and sustainable latrine design that consists of a squat pan, slab, catchment box, pipe and offset storage rings, making household sanitation decisions easy.

“Today, basic sanitary facilities are taken for granted, but not so in this rural Cambodian community. Their economic priorities made even the most rudimentary facility a luxury that could only be a dream until this design team showed them how it could become a reality. Not beautiful, but a beautiful example of 'design thinking' employed to harness local knowledge and expertise to solve the problem in an economically sustainable way. The impact will go well beyond this project and serve as inspiration of how to creatively tackle problems they may encounter in the future."  --Davin Stowell, IDSA, Smart Design

Contact: Jeff Chapin: jchapin@ideo.com

Credit: Easy Latrine developed by International Development Enterprises (IDE) under funding from USAID and the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP)