Innovative Solution

Affordable Sanitation

technical

Financial, Educational, Policy

As of 2008, almost 45% of the Indonesian population (over 94 million) did not have access to sanitary toilets, 33 million still practiced open defecation and 22 million shared communal latrines. As a result of poor sanitation, there are an estimated 121,100 diarrhea episodes resulting in more than 50,000 deaths annually. In the capital city of Jakarta, roughly 50% of residents have access to the city’s water supply system. Unsealed septic tanks and the use of soak pits results in wastewater flowing through open gutters and contaminating shallow groundwater. The discharge of the sludge from septic tanks is often disposed of in open waterways. In 2005, the Governor of Jakarta issued the Domestic Waste Water Regulation (PERGUB No. 122 – 2005), which states that households, public infrastructures, and commercial buildings must provide domestic waste management systems, to ensure the effluent produced complies with Government Standards.  However, the regulation failed to anticipate the growing urban population and the corresponding issues with access to sanitation in densely populated urban areas.

Mercy Corps implemented two programs which focused on market solutions to the challenge of access appropriate urban sanitation.  The first was the Program of Urban Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (PUSH) implemented in two communities in Jakarta for 18 months (2009/10) targeting 2,404 urban households. The second was a two year (2009/11) USAID-funded program called RW Siaga Plus+, which worked in three urban communities in Jakarta and one peri-urban community in Bekasi targeting 1,400 households to improve sanitation interventions. Both programs aimed to “provide access to affordable and sustainable sanitation facilities to poor urban populations” and worked with market actors to ensure that sanitation services in low-income areas were available, affordable and reliable. The projects also leveraged marketing and awareness campaigns on sanitation to encourage beneficiary households to allocate part of their income to paying for sanitation services. Prospects for sustainable change in densely populated urban poor communities’ rests in the sanitation market operating more effectively and inclusively without aid actors in key market roles

Mercy corps works in Greater Jakarta and West Java Region, particularly in 5  Villages located in Jakarta, and 3 Villages in Bekasi, West Java. all 8 villages are located in high densely populated area, living in under-served locations with limited access to clean water and sanitation facilities

Mercy Corps Indonesia Initiated the Projects. Water Sanitation has been acknowledged by most of Jakarta Province and West Java Province stakeholders as one of the most critical issues to be solved. This effort to find affordable and sustainable sanitation solution has become the key driver for the stake holders.

Department of Public Works, Local Micro Finance Institution, Local Private Sectors ( contractors ), Government owned Company, and Local sanitation taskforce are strategic partners in the implementation. 

Kalideres Cooperative, a Local Micro Finance,  has been technically assisted by Mercy corps in both providing pro poor sanitation loan products, and in marketing the products to the low income population.

Local Community Sanitation Taskforce has been established and technically assisted to become local agent of change. Their role is to conduct social marketing to create demand of sanitation market, manage and operate the micro sanitation service enterprise.

Both enterprises has become two major institution to ensure projects sustainability in the local level

Both projects has been ended and handed over to the local institutions (Micro Finance Institutions, Local sanitation task force ). Both local institutions now is taking the full role to scale up the impact on their own communities.

Mercy Corps realizes the limitation on the duration of both projects. Therefore, both local Micro Finance Institution and Local Community sanitation task force had been properly prepared to take over the initiative beyond the duration of the project.  Mercy corps has also been involving regulatory bodies and department of the public works to actively support the project by giving their technical inputs. Having seen the output of the projects, Department of Public Works and Environment Planning Board have given their commitment to replicate the project.

The top five challenges to providing appropriate and affordable sanitation products and services to the low income urban population in Jakarta are:

1.      lack of access to health and hygiene behavior information

2.      lack of access to appropriate sanitation products and services – including sealed septic tanks and sludge removal services

3.      lack of public-private partnerships in the sanitation market

4.      low market demand for improved sanitation facilities and services

5.      lack of business skills among potential sanitation micro-enterprise operators

Mercy Corps Indonesia’s innovative strategy of addressing the lack of access to sanitation combines existing methodologies into a multi-faceted new approach which applies market based principals and has led to exciting new technologies being developed, such as the Molsta and the Kedoteng. Mercy Corps team applied methodologies such as: value chain mapping to identify sanitation market players and to identify gaps in the provision of sanitation products and services, building the business capacity of the market players and supporting social marketing to create demand for improved sanitation products and services

Both Projects Key outputs : 

1. Local established Micro Finance Institutions developed and market a Sanitation Product and Service Loan for Low Income urban population in Kalideres Village.
2. 8 Sludge removal micro enterprises supervised by local community sanitation task force have been established, promote, and sell their household level removal serivces in 8 Villages. They have already established an association of sludge removal to have a better bargaining position toward privately own removal tanks and other stakeholders
3. Department of Public Works has been co-financing on the project and willing to scale up to wider area

Since the projects are followed up by market players, mercy corps believe and confident that the investment will be sustainable and deliver tangible impacts on the long run.  Number of Sales, Number of loan, Improvement of Income for the enterprises, number of community who has access to affordable sanitation product and services will become a tangible key performance indicator.

During the first four months of the implementation of the direct marketing activities by PUSH Program, there was very low demand for the sludge removal services, however, in the fifth month 12 poor households ordered standardized septic tanks from the local micro finance institution. On the 6th Month, another 6 poor household ordered. On the 12th months 200 health cadres become freelance commission based marketing for the products. In the RW Siaga Plus+ Program, all six of the sludge removal micro-enterprises each received 15 sludge removal service orders during the brand activation campaign (90 hh). The business of sludge removal is very new and the challenge is establishing a price for the service that is low enough poor urban households can afford to pay, yet is sufficient to ensure the business is economically viable

Based on the latest study on the growth of Urban population in Indonesia, 54% of the total population in Indonesia will be living in urban area in 2015, and 73% in 2025.  Major big cities i.e Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Makasar, and Medan will be soon facing a complex water and sanitation issues.

Mercy Corps approach has been aknowledged by other organization and government as an innovative and replicable solution. During the National Water and Sanitation Conference held by national government in conjunction with International development agencies in 2011, Mercy Corps has been asked to present the approach as one of proven  water and sanitation solution for poor urban population.

USAID through their IUWASH program has now implementing similar approach and strategy. National Planning Board ( Bappennas ) has been using Mercy Corps social marketing strategy as their reference to plan market based sanitation program.  Water and Sanitation Task Force of the Ministry of Public Works has given their commitment to continue partnering with Mercy corps in replicating the projects

Minimum Investment to effectively implement the solution

1. Human Resources

This solution require social, technical, and business approach. To implement the solution for the total target HH of approximately 3500 HH, a small team comprises of 1 Project Coordinator who has combined background of social and private sectors,  1 water sanitation engineer, 1 Business Development Officer, 1 Behavior change/social marketing specialist, 1 finance and administration officer will be sufficient enough.

2. Duration of Project

The ideal duration of project will be between 24-36 months

3. Financial Resources

The total budget needed to implement this solution will be approximately USD 200.000 for the total target of 3500 House Hold

4. Political Will

MDG’s goals has become a major issues in local government bodies. National level government has urged the local government administration to immediately adopting more innovative approach in solving the problem to enable them shortening Indonesian gaps to reach MDG’s Goals.  This has become a key driver for the government and other stakeholders to create a better environment to implement this solution

Best Practices as the main factor of success :

1. Value Chain Mapping will become the key activities to start the project, to correctly identify sanitation market player, their gaps, and find a correct intervention to leverage those gaps.

2. Working with existing market players will be essential rather than establishing new institution/organization which will have a bigger risk in ensuring their sustainability

3. Community sanitation task force has to be established and prepared to become social enterprise since the initial stage of the project.

4. Working with professional Marketing/Creative agencies to produce marketable brand identities for the product to increase the product competitiveness has also become one of the key success factor.

5. Development of Partnership with local government in village and and province level

USAID through their IUWASH project has been replicating the approach national wide.

Department of Public Works through their water and sanitation task force has allocated 2012 budget with the initial budget of US 100.000 to replicate the solution.

Erynn Carter – Program Director – Mercy Corps Indonesia

Jl. Taman Margasatwa No.3, Ragunan, Jakarta Selatan Indonesia

email – ecarter@id.mercycorps.org

Agni Pratama – Economic Development Program manager – Mercy Corps Indonesia

Jl. Taman Margasatwa No.3, Ragunan, Jakarta Selatan Indonesia

email : apratama@id.mercycorps.org