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Chou Eam
Chou Eam sits cross-legged on the floor of her house, located beside the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest lake. Because the lake, which is fed by the Mekong River, floods extensively for around 6 months every year, Eam’s house is built on stilts, 30 feet above the ground.
“I’ve been living here since my parents got married and settled in this area. I’ve adapted to this way of life, whether we have food or not. We’ve learned to manage,” says Eam, 65, who shares the wooden home with her adult children and grandchildren.
While everyday life is difficult in the flood zone, it is particularly challenging for Eam, who is vision impaired. In the past, to relieve herself, she would make her way to the nearby forest. But now she can’t leave the house alone, especially during the rainy season.
“I lost my eyesight two years ago. I cannot do anything now. I can hardly recognize my own grandchildren. I only hear their voices so I call their names.
Sky latrine in Chou Eam’s home.
Despite the challenges, Eam’s situation has improved greatly since the family had a new toilet installed in the house. Instead of being helped into a boat to relieve herself, she can now simply use her newly constructed washroom.
“My grandchildren or anyone who stays home used to accompany me to the forest. Now, with the latrine, it’s much easier — I no longer need to ask for someone to accompany me or worry they will grow tired of me.”
The improvement to Eam’s life was made possible by iDE and its partner organizations, which are working to reduce open defecation across Cambodia and provide climate-resilient latrines that can withstand seasonal floods.
Since 2009, iDE has trained a small army of local construction workers to produce concrete pour-flush latrines, while incentivizing sales agents to go door-to-door selling the products with support from commune- and village-level local authorities. Today, one in five rural Cambodian households has a toilet installed by an iDE-powered entrepreneur, and several provinces have been declared open-defecation free.
The Sky Latrine, like the one in Eam’s house is iDE’s latest innovation, was designed specifically to confront the challenge of high flood waters around the Tonle Sap.
Chou Eam’s house
Instead of being installed at ground level, Sky Latrines are built above the high-water mark and are connected to a concrete pit by a long pipe. During the rainy season, these pits are completely submerged. However, the toilets can still be flushed as air is released from the pits by a tube reaching above the flood waters.
To raise awareness about Sky Latrines, the importance of drinking clean water, proper hygiene, and solid waste management, iDE works closely with women and children commune committees and local village chiefs, hosting information sessions alongside local authorities.
“We want to prevent open defecation, which can lead to bacterial contamination,” said Mao Tra, 70, a village chief from Sot Nikum District in Siem Reap Province, who said 149 out of 255 households in his village now had latrines installed by iDE-trained entrepreneurs.
Mao Tra
“During the dry season, defecating in open areas attracts flies to the feces. These flies can then land on the food we eat, potentially causing infections. Defecating in a forest is also hazardous, particularly at night, as there may be poisonous animals that could bite us.”
Tra says when Sky Latrines became available, he installed one without hesitation. “If we install ground-level latrines, they are only accessible during the dry season. When the rainy season comes, the floods submerge the latrines, making them unusable.”
Kevin Robbins, iDE Cambodia country director, said 15 years ago, Cambodia had very low improved sanitation coverage. Open defecation was, and continues to be, a common practice in some areas.
“Training entrepreneurs to produce and install toilets that are affordable and desirable, dramatically reduces open defecation and improves public health,” says Robbins.
“Rather than being fully subsidized, households pay all or most of the cost of these toilets themselves, creating a sustainable market for a product that is helping to solve a major social problem.”
Robbins said installing Sky Latrines in flood prone areas, an effort supported by the Australian government’s Water for Women fund, Latter-day Saints Charities, and the Vitol Foundation, was further increasing sanitation coverage in challenging environments, and restoring dignity to families who no longer had to relieve themselves in the open.
Like many rural Cambodian’s, Khut Khon makes a modest living growing rice in the fields that surround his house. But Khon also has a side hustle: making Sky Latrines.
Khut Khon
“Initially, I started [his construction business] by building concrete poles and ridges. Then, my neighbor connected me with iDE, which was looking for a local mason to produce their latrines. They asked me if I could do it, and I said, “I can try it.” Since then, I’ve become a latrine business owner,” says Khon.
“I thought that by partnering with iDE, I could diversify my products and improve my business. Before, I only produced a few items. Partnering with iDE on this latrine business allowed me to contribute to community development by reducing open defecation and improving hygiene. Additionally, I have created jobs for several families in my village.”
Khut Khon at work
Khon says business is going well and he sells about 30 to 40 latrines each month. He is connected to customers by iDE’s sales agents.
Trained by iDE, sales agents raise demand within communities, going door to door, having conversations with households and making sanitation sales presentations. They then send orders to business owners, who deliver and install the latrines.
The customers pay the businesses directly for the latrines. When families make their own investment in sanitation systems, they are more likely to use and maintain the improvement.
The introduction of Sky Latrines in rural Cambodia’s flood zones has significantly improved sanitation access, empowering families like Chou Eam’s to maintain dignity and health during seasonal floods, while also powering local entrepreneurship and community wide health and development.
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