Samagra has only 2 priorities - Number 1 and Number 2
Samagra operates in India, where those who handle human waste are considered "untouchables" by society and as such people willing to work on handling the toilet waste are NOT readily available. There are also government laws that prohibit human handling of waste from dry toilets, thus rendering "canister or cartridge" model of toilet-emptying illegal. Even discussing about toilet waste is considered taboo, let alone usage of the biogas or fertilizer produced from toilet waste.
Samagra saw a great opportunity to create a sanitation business model that does NOT rely on sale of waste byproducts and instead "monetizes the user engagement" to make community toilets accessible, affordable and aspirational for urban slum dwellers.
Sanitation Issues in India:
Unfortunately, India accounts for 600 million of the nearly 1.1 billion people worldwide who regularly defecate in the open due to lack of proper sanitation facilities. The problem is especially acute in India's dense urban environments. Women and children bear a disproportionate burden of the negative effects stemming from poor sanitation.
In urban India, while the percentage of households without toilets decreased to 18.6% in 2011 from 26.3% in 2001, the number of households without toilets increased slightly to 20 million households or roughly 100 million people. Of these individuals, roughly 25 million use public toilets that are dilapidated at best and often unhygienic while an estimated 75 million people in urban India defecate in the open everyday.
Despite the great need that exists and the transformative effect that community toilet facilities can have on the poor, few organizations have been able to address this issue effectively. Existing solutions take a “top-down” approach, attempting to bring certain technologies or methodologies to the base of the pyramid. Most sanitation programs fail or have limited impact because they fail to realize that solving these issues is not just about technology or infrastructure, it is also about user engagement and behavior change.
Seeking to deeply understand the wants and the needs of our end users we have performed intense ethnographic research across slums in various cities in India.
We have found that the Critical factors responsible for failure of sanitation efforts are:
1. Lack of appropriate Toilets (design issues)
2. Lack of User Engagement (behavior issues)
3. Lack of Operational Models (maintenance/operational issues)
Samagra's Approach:
We have found that in order to create sustainable social impact with respect to sanitation issues we have to do 3 things:
1. Change The Environment i.e. build better toilets
2. Change The Behavior i.e. engage user emotionally and rationally
3. Build a financially sustainable Ops Model
Samagra’s holistic model incorporates the “change framework” into its DNA. Samagra is the first for-profit sanitation social enterprise in India that is dedicated solely to providing access to clean, safe, and reliable community toilet facilities for the urban slum-dwelling poor.
What makes the model innovative is the seamless bundling of other value-added services along with the toilet block:
- Financial services (including savings accounts)
- Access to digital goods (mobile phone re-charge, TV subscription services, Bill Payment Services)
- Access to life improving Products and Services (like Health Services, Ecommerce etc)
Samagra effectively partners with municipal agencies and businesses and leverages existing community toilet infrastructure to create a community center and a “one stop shop” for slum residents. The model has proven its ability to attract and retain users to the toilet facility, promote hygienic behavior, and still achieve profitability.
As it worked to build a proof of concept, Samagra has been supported by grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ashoka Fellowship and Acumen India Fellowship for implementing an innovative business model for sanitation.
By providing access to community toilet facilities that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – that also double as a center of commerce and other activity – Samagra has proven it can reduce rates of open defecation and effect improved health and security for its members.
Samagra has successfully re-designed and operates 12 community toilet blocks (320 Toilet Seats) in the city of Pune, Maharashtra and currently has over 10,000+ daily users that are regularly using the facilities. The team now aspires to replicate this model and scale up to total of 60 toilet blocks serving over 60,000 daily users by the Dec 2016.
Why did I start Samagra?
There is only one reason why I started Samagra - "For Women's Dignity".
Samagra's LooRewards Model
Samagra's LooRewards Business Model is based on "Monetization of The User Engagement"
The model at its core focuses on good design and effective management of community toilet blocks. Samagra combines knowledge and expertise from a variety of discipline – human-centered design, toilet block management, personnel training and marketing - to create community facilities that offer both sanitation services and access to critical value added services for local slum-dwelling populations.
Evolution:
Samagra operates in India, where those who handle human waste are considered "untouchables" by society and as such people willing to work on handling the toilet waste are NOT readily available. There are also government laws that prohibit human handling of waste from dry toilets, thus rendering "canister or cartridge" model of toilet-emptying illegal.
Samagra started with a business model of converting toilet waste into biogas and thus generating revenue from the waste, but we soon realized that even discussing about toilet waste is considered taboo, let alone usage of the biogas or fertilizer produced from toilet waste. Also there is a HUGE Capital Cost related biogas generation technologies and these also require a lot of space that is NOT available in urban slums.
Due to social, financial and spatial issues associated with "Monetizing The Shit" business model we realized early on that this will be very difficult to scale in slums of India. Although all the waste from our toilet blocks gets treated, we do not monetize the by-products produced from waste, except for the treated water that is used for flushing and cleaning the toilets.
How Does Samagra Model Work?
1. Design: Samagra designs and renovates community toilet blocks in partnership with the Municipality which pays for all the renovation and utilities.
2. Operate: Samagra then starts operating these blocks. Each Block is run by a local women a.k.a "Loo-Preneur" and is regularly cleaned by Samagra's Cleaning Force.
3. Engage: All slum dwellers can use the toilets for free. But only those who pay get access to
2-Levels of Behavior Change through LooRewards:
Most Slum dwellers in India consider community toilets to be a free social utility. As such users are unwilling to pay for community toilets and would rather defecate in open. Most often the toilets relying of User Fee for revenues often fail to sustain operations.
As such 2-levels of behavior change are required in order to promote sanitation in urban slum communities while making O&M of community toilets self-sustainable.
1. Converting Non-Users into Users
2. Converting Non-Payers into Payers
Samagra's LooRewards Platform accomplishes this in the following manner:
All the slum dwellers in the service area are free to use Samagra operated community toilet blocks. But ONLY those who pay get access to Samagra's LooRewards programs that provides Value Added Services as digital goods, bill payments, banking, health and e-commerce services etc.
1. By converting filthy community toilets into well-designed & clean facilities, Samagra motivates non-users to start using the toilets. And,
2. By tying REWARDS with GOOD BEHAVIORS of paying for toilet usage, Samagra is able to change social norm into "Community Toilets as a Paid Utility".
As such Open Defecation is reduced and toilet becomes self-sustainable within few Months of Operations.
Components of Samagra Model:
- LooRewards & LooKiosks: LooRewards essentially a rewards program to incentivize paid usage of toilets by offering only paying toilet users access to services at the LooKiosk. LooKiosks act as access points manned by local women a.k.a LooPreneurs, who use Samagra's ICT enabled technology to administer the services offered through the kiosk.
- LooSavings: The model is also supplemented by LooSavings, which provides a savings accounts for members. This enables paying toilet users to avail banking services. Thussanitation and Financial Inclusion go hand in hand. Savings programs also reduces cost of operations and makes Samagra Model highly scalable and replicable
- LooPreneurs: As Samagra scaled its operations, it has also been successful in motivating local women to take the role of managing kiosks. All of Samagra’s LooKiosks are being operated by women who are playing an important part in sustainability of Samagra’s Operations by delivering all the Value Added Services to our paying users
Results & Impact:
- 12 Community Toilet Blocks (320 Seats)
- 10,000+ Daily Users
- 30-50% Increase in Toilet Usage
- 600% Increase in Users Paying for toilets
- Toilets Start Breaking Even within few Months of Operations
Samagra's Vision
As it expands in 2016 alone, Samagra has the opportunity to put Pune, Maharashtra on the map as a model city for India that has perfected the community toilet block for its citizens, and also to create a “demonstration effect” in other large cities across India.
Samagra's Goal is to scale up to 300 Toilet Blocks serving over 300,000 daily toilet users by end of 2018.
The larger vision is to amplify Samagra's Impact by partnering with other sanitation providers and equip them with our "Toilet Management Processes & Technology" and "user engagement LooRewards Platform" that will enable these partners make their own operations sustainable.
Meanwhile we will keep bringing more and more life improving products and services through our LooRewards Platform, thus "Empowering Transformations" in urban slum communities.
We believe that Sanitation is a Wicked Problem.
Sanitation practices we know have evolved over years. The behavior is a consequence of multiple environmental factors such as infrastructure, education, lifestyles, social norms. The history associated with the problem also leads to multiple beliefs.
As such solution to sanitation lies in the use of Psychology, Technology and Business Models
Few Articles/Videos About Samagra:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/10/17/3-ways-empathy-is-dri...
http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/LaRzXngJPb5bpWJmpDuTnL/Samagra-Use-...
http://www.thebetterindia.com/9971/swapnil-poop-guy-sanitation-clea...
This post is a part of the April 2016 series on Inclusive Businesses and Sanitation. View the whole series for more business examples, research and insights on sustainable sanitation solutions.