Faecal sludge management in Toamasina, Madagascar: Emptying - Transport - Treatment.

In Toamasina, the second largest city in Madagascar with 326,286 inhabitants and located at sea level, 97% of households uses latrines. The city produces 14,100 m³ faecal sludge per year and 28,000 latrines need to be emptied annually. Most latrines are emptied manually and sludge used to be buried in the compound, thus contaminating sub surface water that is used for domestic purposes by 60% of the population. This article shows how through an action-research process coordinated by Join For Water emptying, transport and treatment services were improved, these services remain accessible to the lowest social class, and a profitable private service provider, Clean Impact, was created. It further describes the construction of a treatment plant consisting of planted humification beds, and the process towards a sustainable exploitation, today managed by Clean Impact.