Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL)

The world is experiencing an unprecedented sanitation crisis, with more than half the world's population lacking access to a toilet that safely manages human waste. Diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation is the leading cause of death in children under five. As cities expand at staggering rates, it is critical that the sanitation sector develop innovative approaches that work in dense urban areas to avoid exacerbating the toll of preventable waterborne disease.

SOIL is a non-profit research and development organization working in Haiti to design, test and implement social business models to increase access to full-cycle household sanitation services in vulnerable urban communities. Over the last 10 years, SOIL has pioneered approaches to sustainable sanitation service delivery that combine innovative service delivery models and new technologies with a strategic, catalytic approach to financial sustainability. SOIL's flagship programme, EkoLakay, provides household-level ecological sanitation to families in some of Haiti's most vulnerable urban communities. EkoLakay is a monthly toilet rental service: clients pay a small monthly fee and receive a toilet and weekly waste collection services.

SOIL's programme addresses the entire sanitation value chain and, accordingly, all waste from EkoLakay toilets is safely treated and transformed into compost in a treatment process that respects World Health Organization standards. The compost is then sold to support agriculture and reforestation efforts in Haiti. Revenue from toilet user fees and compost sales supports ongoing project costs and showcases the potential to affordably provide household sanitation in dense urban communities.