f. Piloting three innovative sanitation technologies: DSK always search for sustainable, gender and user friendly environmentally safe sanitation technology both for rural and urban communities. As part of watsan research DSK is piloting following three options in its project areas:

1. Up-flow affluent system for community latrine: This is a modified septic tank based community latrine. The septic tank design has been modified with additional chamber having capacity of filtration of affluents; so that wastewater could be safely discharged onto normal without minimal chance of pollution. This system also delays need for cleaning of septic tank. The affluent has been regularly tested at laboratory to see its quality and hence the safety to discharge into environment safely.
2. Network Based Community latrine: This is also a new innovation for community latrine. This was piloted in the densely populated areas particularly in urban slums. Where the space constrains to set up adequate latrines or the houses are scatteredly located; this option is suitable for the community particularly women and adolescent girls considering their privacy and security. The septic tank is connected with chambers located in different houses.
3. Community latrine with Menstrual Management facilities: DSK has developed a female friendly socially acceptable community latrine with menstrual management facilities without extra cost. The design was finalized and implemented having detail consultation with women groups. Experiences show latrine with menstruation management facility became popular. These researches shall play an important role to up-grade sanitation technology applied in rural areas as well.

g. Piloting Vacutug Services: Vacutug is a completely new innovation in Bangladesh adopted by DSK as a part of its watsan services to face the crisis of safe disposal of human sludge. As the sewerage system is all-most absent both in urban as well as rural areas. People of the country depend on pits or septic tank based sanitation options.

In Bangladesh, the most common and conventional method of empting pit or tank is manual cleaning; generally wastes are dumped in the nearest open space or drain or lake or low lying areas. This practice is harmful for human health as well as environment. Basically, this old tradition is heavily polluting our environment.

During implementation of sanitation activities we did observe that emptying and disposing of human waste from sanitation pit is the main problem in the cities. DSK along with other partners advocates a full and safe sanitation approach. The empting, transfer and end disposal are difficult issues to address due to the current lack of options for densely populated areas; particularly in the slum areas, which are frequently far away from sewer lines.

To minimize the problem DSK introduced mechanized human sludge discharging and empting machine that is called VACUTUG. The innovative services has been running cost recovery basis since year 2000.

The VACUTUG is a simple machine of a motorized tank on wheels, which creates a vacuum within the tank and, through a plastic hose, sucks the human waste sludge from the pit or septic tank. The tank is then wheeled to an end disposal site, a pressure created within the tank and the waste pushed out of the tank into the end disposal site.

Small-scale implementation of this system has been provided successful in slums of Nairobi, Kenya funded under the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements (UNCHS).

DSK has been running three units of VACUTUG - Mark-1 and Mark-2, with capacity of 500Liter [Mark-1] and 2000liter [mark-II]

For safe and sustainable sanitation VACUTUG is an essential device for empting pits and septic tanks both for urban and small town as well as for rural areas.

Sound and safe sanitation management can only be achieved through strong links between Municipalities/ City Corporations, WASA, development organizations and communities. These institutional linkages are key to safe collection, transfer and end disposal.

This innovation can also attract private initiative to run Vacutug system commercially.

h. Piloting WatSan services for disable persons: DSK has been carried out a pilot research on watsan services for Differently Able Persons [disable], elderly persons and pregnant mothers in two project areas. The piloting is being focused on to find out user friendly, easy accessible and affordable technologies, appropriate HP messages and approaches both for the disable persons and their caretakers.

About 200 disable persons are participating in the pilot research and research will be continued for two years.

The main objectives of the research are-

• To introduce appropriate and user-friendly water and sanitation and hygiene promotion options for differently abled people;
• To mainstream differently abled people through provision of proper sanitation options and replicate in other working areas;
• Replicate technologies in the other project areas to achieve 100% coverage by different segment of population.

i. Technical Service Provision (TSP): TSP stands for Technical Service Provision. DSK envisions a vision to be a lead NGO, who has enormous scope to work with the partner NGOs that work for watsan services. Supplying water through innovative technology is helping poor people to have water in their daily life. Besides, provision for pit latrine, Community sanitation block contributed a lot towards the healthy and hygienic sanitation system. Most of the WP of DSK has been running with an excellent service.

In facilitating the various types of innovative approaches, DSK has gained a remarkable practical experience working with multi dimensional poor community. DSK model has captured the interest of Communities, NGOs, Government and Donors both within the country as well as outside the country.

New urbanization process is throwing new challenges to us and we have to develop strategies to cope with that. In line with this need for urban water supply and sanitation will be increasing. These means we will be in need of increasing technical manpower and appropriate community organizing methods for such felt needs.

To support the urban and rural communities of the country there will be tremendous need to work with local government departments, DPHE, municipalities, NGOs and CBOs. For the sustainability, customization of the provision of services in accordance with the need of the communities and affordability would be required to be built. DSK looks at TSP from above long-term vision of creating a service as well as a technical base for the communities and for the country at large, to facilitate accomplishment of long term development goals in this sector.

Under the Technical Service Provision (TSP), the following activities are undertaken to extend the technical support to other organization beyond the DSK’s regular activities.

• Technical training for NGOs, Communities and service provider plus other interested organizations in both in rural and urban areas watsan model, and community management aspects.
• To organize interactive workshops with UP/ Municipality / DCC /DWASA /CCC /CWASA /NGOS/ communities about DSK water supply model, participatory community projects and about sustainable public utilities.
• To facilitates networking between government, NGOs, donors and communities.
• To document the innovative approaches, case studies in the form of short report, and short video film about DSK approach for urban water supply to depressed communities.
• To conduct the action research for the purpose of innovation and community needs towards the water and sanitation program.