Story




When industrial designer Annamaja Segtnan studied at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad in north west India, she daily passed a slum area. She found out that the women in this area were getting urinary tract infections since they lack toilet facilities and have to hold themselves all day and do their need in a public area during night time, something 665 millions Indians are doing daily.

The insight about this catastrophic sanitary situation gave her the idea to develop Ecoloove: a mobile, ecological urine separating toilet. Ecoloove as a company sees itself as as business concept based on micro loan and social entrepreneurship. The goal for Ecoloove is to offer mainly women a safe and ecological way of using a toilet facility and at the same time offer women in rural areas a business opportunity.

Ecoloove is assembled onto a three wheeler bicycle, therefore allowing women driving the toilet to earn money from visiting villages and offer their toilet service, but also through selling the fertilizer which can become the end product from the urine separating toilet. The mobile toilet is also meant to be used as a platform to inform about hygiene and health.

In January 2010 Annamaja Segtnan and team member Stina Hallström designed and constructed the first prototype in Ahmedabad and was then tested during two days in Bareja outside Ahmedabad.

Now mid-year we've completed most of the research, got initial feedback from target users and areas based on the testing of the prototype. Necessary contacts to production facilities, supporting organizations and the initial target market – the slum area of Ahmedabad – have been established. We have important voluntary support for marketing (reporting), teaching about the problems in target areas, getting tests done with regards to a roll out in a slum area & evaluation of cultural & social acceptance, as well as usage to assess viable business propositions. – Feedback is still extremely enthusiastic & positive.