A few months ago I went to Malawi with three other members of the Northampton Becket Rotary Club to check on an innovative new project that we had recently completed at 20 rural primary schools.
With the support of local and international Rotary, we have been able to provide these schools with 50 new Agrisan (Agricultural Sanitation) toilets to replace the disgusting ‘pit toilets’ that the children would otherwise have to use.
Agrisan toilets are very cleverly designed to enable the hygienic recycling of human urine into valuable fertiliser that can be used by local farmers on their fields. To allow easy collection, these toilets are raised off the ground and the locals have fittingly nicknamed them Skyloos!
Each primary school works with their designated local farmer who regularly collects the concentrate and then uses a diluted solution as a fertiliser for their crop of maize, which is the staple food of all Malawians.
To our astonishment we saw treated crops that were twice the normal size and were producing four times as much maize. The farmers now can’t get enough of their new Number One source of fertilizer.
In addition to this, the improved sanitation and bet- ter hygiene has led to far fewer children suffering dys- entery-like illness, the local water courses are less likely to become polluted and lots more youngsters are willing to attend school – and improve their education.
International projects like this are just one aspect of Rotary Becket, with the majority of our work focussed on supporting good causes in our local community. We are a voluntary organisation always on the look-out for new individual or corporate members and if you would like to learn more about us please do not hesitate to get in touch.
