2019 Nepal Sanitation Fellowship 2019
In March-April 2019 the PPF team of Aidan Ward, plumber, and Marcus Gleeson, media expert, successfully installed plumbing infrastructure for a community toilet block in Kavre district, Nepal.
The Project
The villagers of Bhattedanda village, who benefitted from a village based sanitation program led by Paul Pholeros from 2007-2010, identified the need for the facility.
They requested a community toilet/shower block be designed and built near the site of a Buddhist stupa and adjacent small monastery, the “gumba”, in the nearby forest. It is a place where people gather for religious and community events, monks (lama “priests”) come for meditation retreats, and cremations are carried out at the nearby “ghat” ie cremation ground.
There was no water supply, no toilet, no washing place at this site.
The Work
The PPF team worked closely with the architects, village construction and plumbing teams to share knowledge and skills. Together the teams built a very fine sanitation block with 3 toilet cubicles and 1 shower each side for females and males. The toilets, showers and handwash basins drain into a 2-tank septic system with treated outflow going to soakage trenches.
The building was designed by architects Harry Catterns, Jasper Ludewig and David Donald. Harry Partridge, engineer, offered advice particularly about adequate earthquake proof strengthening. Many thanks to this team!
PPF managed to source funding for construction from private sources. The local teams organised the installation of a large water tank and water supply.
During their visit the PPF team also inspected existing village toilets to check for any damage after the earthquakes in 2015. Result….no damage to the toilet buildings, septic and biogas waste treatment systems. The team somehow found time to connect with the public health team at nearby Dhulikhel Hospital, and to visit a newly established plumbing training colleage at Sindhuli in southern Nepal.
The Thanks
The villagers dedicated this very important block to the memory of “Paul Sir” in recognition of his long term commitment to improving their living standards.
As the Lama priest noted at the inauguration of the block, this is the first time there has been a toilet in this forest meeting and worship site for over 600 years.
The villagers are very proud of this amenity and have employed a caretaker to ensure it is cleaned every day and is appropriately maintained.
You can view a video of the block, put together by Zidan Waiba of Bhatttedanda village.
The Award
In 2025 the sanitation block received a commendation, one of 3 awarded, in the ArchitectureAu Social Impact Award. This was a great achievement for the combined teams involved in the conceptualisation and construction of the block – the villagers and their leaders, volunteer architects, local village building teams.
For more information, click below.
