FSM for refugees
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Authors
Amy Mina
Issue Date
2018-04
Type
Language
en
Keywords
Water and Sanitation
Alternative Title
Abstract
Nearly a million Rohingya fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar and now live in makeshift shelters in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. The camp is well managed with the government and agencies working together to provide food, shelter, water and sanitation. All trees have been cut from the hills around the camp, creating an ongoing risk of flooding and landslides when it rains. Other agencies have built toilets and supplied drinking water to meet the immediate needs of the residents. But it became obvious that the absence of proper management of toilet waste posed severe concerns for public health. Toilets, often used by around 30 people, fill up quickly and were contaminating water sources when they overflowed. Waste pumped from toilets was stored in open pits festering with flies and mosquitoes. Because of our expertise in delivering faecal sludge management systems in Bangladesh, Practical Action was approached to help manage the safe disposal of this waste. Practical Action has designed and built a series of enclosed units of metal, concrete, mesh and plastic in the camp. The units were designed, built and tested in Faridpur, then deconstructed and reassembled in place. Space is the camp is very limited with many people tightly packed into a small area, so the units are small – around the size of a shipping container. Amy Mina, recently visited and was hugely impressed. “It’s very simple technology, made out of metal bars, a bit of concrete, mesh and plastic sheets and layers of stone and sand. Ten have already been built and we are planning 50 more.” The faecal sludge is collected mechanically using suction pumps and discharged through a series of filtration chambers to separate liquids from solids. The liquid effluent is treated by a natural process in a ‘constructed wetland’ through the roots of Canna indica plants. The solid parts are removed and buried under sand, where it decomposes and after some time can be used as compost. Despite big problems caused by the hilly terrain and a lack of available free space, the units are operating successfully. And much to the delight of those living nearby there is no smell. Members of the Rohingya community have been trained to pump the sludge from the toilets through pipes into the plants, which enables them to earn some income. The units are being improved as each one is built to address problems that have occurred. Mosquito netting has been added to prevent mosquitoes breeding inside. More plants will be required during the rainy season to deal with greater quantities of liquid. https://practicalaction.org/blog/news/campaigns/managing-the-sanitation-challenge-for-rohingya-refugees/