The Blue Diversion Toilet well received at the Reinvent the Toilet Fair in India
„It was a
success“, says Christoph Lüthi, Blue Diversion deputy project leader, after
returning home from India. “Our convincing presence at the fair marked an
important milestone on our way to further developing and industrializing the
Blue Diversion Toilet.”
The Reinvent the Toilet Fair: India took place on March 21-22, 2014 in Delhi and was hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing together over 700 participants from 47 countries. The goal of the Fair was not just to judge the progress made in the past 18 months but also to establish a first contact with potential investors and the industry. The Eawag delegation included Tove Larsen (Blue Diversion project leader), Eberhard Morgenroth, Christoph Lüthi, Heiko Gebauer and Ulrike Messmer. Our main strength “People liked the blue toilet very much, especially that we give the people access to water. Compared to the other participants, we are situated between the very ‘hightech’ toilets, which you can hardly imagine in a slum, and the more ‘lowtech’ toilets, which build on known technology. People liked that we had considered every aspect from human psychology to technical functionality. Personally, I think that this is our main strength,” says Tove. The three intensive days full of meetings and presentations were worth the effort: the good impression was also confirmed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project team has now initiated discussions with them but it is not yet set how the journey of the Blue Diversion Toilet will continue. “Ideally, we would now get a grant to improve the mechanical part of the toilet so that it can be mass produced. As an alternative, we will have to find this money somewhere else. It is important that the toilet can be mass produced locally at a low price,” Tove adds. by Rea Sturzenegger, Eawag, photos: Blue Diversion team |