This could end cholera

(Camilla Wirseen/Peepoople)

The Peepoo is an anytime on-the-go toilet created to give the world's poorest people a single-use, self-sanitizing and biodegradable mobile toilet. Cholera, a devastating disease, is transmitted via poor sanitation practices; the implementation of the Peepoo could alleviate this global health burden.

The Peepoo is essentially a slim biodegradable plastic bag (14 x 38 cm) with separate, green gauze lining (26 x 24 cm), similar in shape to a single wine bottle bag. It weighs less than 10 grams and odor-free up to 24-hours after use.

"Peepoople's mission is to provide hygienic and dignified sanitation for all," Karin Ruiz, CEO of Peepoople, told Relaxnews. In the process Peepoo is also empowering communities with a necessary resource, fertilizer. Two to four weeks after use, the remnants of the Peepoo deposit become a fertilizer filled with soil nutrients and nitrogen, improving agri-production and livelihoods.

Using the Peepoo bag is simple and the makers, Peepoople have created a short visual tutorial on their site with these basic steps:

Step 1: Open the bag and bring out and develop the protecting gauze.

Step 2: Simply hold it in your hand or place in a cut PET-bottle or a small bucket

Step 3: Sit, squat, stand and go

Step 4: Secure the Peepoo bag with a knot and it is safe to discard or to bury in soil.

* The Peepoo bag is designed for total hand protection, but it is recommended to wash hands after use.

Engineers, researchers, public health professionals and aid workers have studied the connection between sanitation, human security, disease, gender roles and social development. The World Health Organization (WHO) states, "Cholera remains a global threat to public health and one of the key indicators of social development" and "...it remains a threat in almost every developing country."

The London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conducted a study to understand why people in poor communities invest in toilets and Peepoople posted their 19 ranked findings, below are the top ten:

1. Avoid the discomfort of the bush

2. Gain prestige from visitors

3. Avoid dangers at night

4. Avoid snakes

5. Reduce flies in compound

6. Avoid smelling/seeing faeces in bush

7. Protect my faeces from enemies

8. Have more privacy to defecate

9. Keep my house/property clean

10. Feel safer

Ruiz continued, "The Peepoo toilet will be launched to the market in the fall 2010. Individuals can purchase them in markets where we launch the Peepoo solution. The first markets will be Kenya and Bangladesh. Eventually it will also be possible to purchase online or through e.g., outdoor retail outlets in the west."

Ruiz explained, "the price is not decided yet and will vary depending on market and volumes. The Peepoo will be sold to poor people in urban slums for about 3 Eurocents net, but this will require price support initially" and "will typically be distributed by women microentrepreneurs, by landlords or through retailers such as small kiosks or water sales points. In emergencies, refugee camps, schools, hospitals, etc. Peepoos will typically be handed out for free" via "aid organizations and governments."

Eric O. Odada, member of United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board (UNSGAB) on Water and Sanitation, said this about the Peepoo, "the ideal system, the ideal product for the biggest problem facing the world."

Peepoople are giving "2.6 billion people their own toilet and a brand new future."

Peepoo tutorial and more information: http://www.peepoople.com/showpage.php?page=3_9