The inventor of “Tiger Toilet” project, Walter Gibson, a microbiologist by Profession claims the idea is to replace the traditional rural toilets of our urban cities. The initiative of this toilet system is depending on some kind of giant earthworm. Each toilet will be enriched with such worms which will nosh the stools. And the excretion of that worm can be used as compost fertilizer. The toilet will remain smell free and & also much more hygienic than traditional toilets.
Walter Gibson, MA PhD was talking about his invention call “Tiger Toilet”. It is one of the four new ideas of toilet that has created lot of concentration.
The Dhaka Tribune had an exclusive talk with the visiting Scotsman at CIRDAP (Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific) auditorium near National Press Club, Dhaka.
Why you are trying this in Bangladesh? Did the Idea concern this in your land?
The Idea is developed in England in 2006 while I was with London School of Hygiene. Then we have gone through lot of Lab-tests & then implemented it in Myanmar, India and Africa which resulted positive...and why not in England? Look, in Britain, we are not in risk in terms of sanitation. An integrated system is working there.
But Tiger Toilet is more supportive in over populated countries like Bangladesh. This system changes the human excretion into compost via natural process. If it works properly in Bangladesh, it will make me happier person at the same time it will also do good to Bangladesh profoundly. This will open another money generating window for Bangladeshi people.”
We have chosen Bangladesh for lot more reasons. Mainly, Bangladesh is an over populated country where urban slums are in endangered in terms of pollution. Because, you have small lands with much more people.
As a result, whole the environment is in a stake for lack of adequate and proper sanitation system. It has been found that one toilet is used by at least ten or sometimes more than 20 people per day, mainly in urban areas. In fact most of the toilets are pit type and the rest are integrated in sewerage system. But both the system is severely harmful for this over populated country. The sewerage system is connected with rivers & all the stools are thrown into the river, which is huge in quantity. In one sense it is contaminating the soil & on the other sense it is spoiling the water areas also.
Have you started installing this type of toilet by this time?
It is still experimental. DSK, IDE & ICCO are jointly working on this. Public health Department of Bangladesh Government will justify this and also ITN (International Technology Network) of BUET is working on the viability of the project. When they will find it is suitable for Bangladesh, then the next step, that is practical implementation will resume.
This project is also known as “Intelligent Design in Urban on-site Sanitation”. It complies more three systems of toilet.
What are the other three systems?
Those are Enbiolet, Biofil & Sun-Mar. But I can speak very little on those. Those are also innovative but different in nature. The organizations are also trying on those too.
Sanmark City is working to implement all those “Intelligent Design in urban on-site sanitation” in Bangladesh. The project is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.
