Dear all,

We are pleased to announce that five videos clips from our recent webinar 7 on 29 April 2014 are now online. The theme this time - in our series of SEI-SuSanA webinars to examine BMGF sanitation projects - was "Adding missing links in sanitation value chains".

You can either access the 5 video clips here in this Youtube Playlist:

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0gMdVBup...ymOPomtqL_XYT5YtLTSK

Or you can access the individual videos clips below *:

+++++++++
Part 1:

Introduction by Arno and Nelson (3 minutes):



+++++++++

Part 2:

Is a power auger "Excrevator" a suitable tool to empty pit latrines in South Africa and septic tanks in India? (15:33 minutes duration - includes presentation and questions)

By Francis de los Reyes (North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)



Questions and answers from the chat field are available here:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/99-fae...mit=12&start=24#8404

+++++++++++

Part 3:

A compact water recycling and energy harvesting system for off-grid public toilets in low-income urban areas: The NEWgenerator^TM anaerobic membrane bioreactor ready for field testing in India (13:31 minutes duration - includes presentations and questions)

By Daniel Yeh (University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA)



Questions and answers from the chat field will be available here shortly:

forum.susana.org/forum/categories/98-res...in-kerala-india#8284

++++++++++++

Part 4:

Community-scale facility to process faeces and faecal sludge into safe biochar by pyrolysis - field testing this year with Sanergy in Nairobi (16:46 minutes duration - includes presentations and questions)

By Brian von Herzen and Laura Talsma (Climate Foundation, California, USA)



Questions and answers from the chat field are available here:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/98-res...n-usa-and-kenya#8393

+++++++++++++

Part 5:

Final discussion and wrap-up statements from Arno (9:27 minutes)



The general Q&A session in this Part 5 included a question by Mutala to Francis about separation of solid waste from pit latrines; some explanations by Francis how the eThekwini Municipality manages their pit emptying program and fees; and a question about the smallest feasible reactor size for the pyrolysis reactor of Brian (for rural areas).

+++++++++++++

We had nearly 50 participants for this webinar; three very interesting presentations (the three presentation files are available in Elisabeth's post just prior to this one), which were each followed by a lively discussion (verbally but even more so in the chat fields).

Thanks very much to everyone who participated and see you next time! The next webinar, number 8, is planned for June 2014; if you want to be kept in the loop then the easiest way is to subscribe to this thread - click on the blue subscribe flag below this post when you are logged in. If you want to be a presenter in a future webinar then please contact us by e-mail or by using the contact button to the left of this post.

Best wishes,

Arno
and Elisabeth


* Note some people have reported problems with viewing such embedded videos - possible causes and solutions are provided here on the forum: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/135-qu...--but-it-doesnt-work

P.S.
Information about earlier SEI-SuSanA webinars with grantees is available in this category:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/139-in...-grants-and-webinars

Reminder: Our 7th webinar with grantees and SuSanA members and others will take place on 29 April!

If you want to participate, book your spot now: obtain the passcode by contacting me (use the contact button to the left or send me an e-mail). We can accommodate a maximum of 100 people in the virtual room.

And I have here for you - as a sneak preview - the three presentations: See attached below the near-final version of the presentation by Francis (Excravator tool for pit emptying) - who will be up first in the webinar.
Then Daniel (anaerobic MBR, testing together with the e-toilet in India).
And then Laura & Brian (pyrolysis reactor, biochar production, community scale, testing with Sanergy in Kenya) who will make the last presentation in the webinar.







Don't forget to check the local time for you for this webinar. It's 16:30 German time = early morning on the West Coast of the USA, and late in the evening for India and countries further east...

If you miss it, you can watch it on Youtube later. But being there live and being able to ask questions is more fun.

Regards,
Elisabeth

P.S. Some people have reported technical problems with the large blue oval feature button at the top of the page leading you to the wrong post. We have the suspicion that this has to do with Safari as an Internet Browser. If it is also not working for you, then please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can figure out what the root cause of this is. Our apologies.

Dear all,

We are happy to announce that our next webinar with Gates Foundation sanitation grantees and SuSanA members will be on the following topic:

"Adding missing links in sanitation value chains"

It will take place on:

Tuesday 29 April 2014, 16:30 - 17:15
(CET - Central European Time; time converter to find your local time: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

(Note: recordings of our past 6 webinars are available here:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0gMdVBup...ymOPomtqL_XYT5YtLTSK)

What do we mean with this webinar title:
The common element between the research of Daniel, Francis and Brian is that their equipment or processes add a previously missing element to already existing sanitation systems or chains: Francis's research: getting sludge out of pit latrines in a safe and efficient manner; Daniel's research: treating the wastewater from public toilets so that it’s fit for reuse; Brian's research: converting faecal sludge into something safe and useful: biochar.

Webinar agenda:

(16:00 - 16:30 Participants can start entering the room, sound checks, greetings)

16:30 Recording starts
Introduction by moderator, short introduction of participants (1 min.). Three presentations and questions (45 min. in total); each presentation is about 5 minutes long and is followed by around 10 minutes of questions.

The three grantees presenting about their research topics will be:

++++++++++++++++
(1)
Is a power auger "Excrevator" a suitable tool to empty pit latrines in South Africa and septic tanks in India?

By Francis de los Reyes (North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)



Previous discussion about this research on the forum:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/99-fae...sa-now-field-testing

++++++++++++++++++
(2)
A compact water recycling and energy harvesting system for off-grid public toilets in low-income urban areas: The NEWgenerator^TM anaerobic membrane bioreactor ready for field testing in India

By Daniel Yeh (University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA)



Previous discussion about this research on the forum:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/98-res...-now-in-kerala-india


++++++++++++++++++++++
(3)
Community-scale facility to process faeces and faecal sludge into safe biochar by pyrolysis – field testing this year with Sanergy in Nairobi

By Brian von Herzen and Laura Talsma (Climate Foundation, California, USA)

Brian:



Laura:




Previous discussion about this research on the forum: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/98-res...dation-usa-and-kenya

+++++++++++++++

Concluding remarks (2 min.)

17:15 End of webinar


Attendance at this webinar is open to any SuSanA member or interested people (your attendance will be with or without microphone rights and video, depending on the number of people as well as your internet bandwidth).

For a visual impression of what such a webinar looks like, see a screenshot from the 6th webinar:



There is no need to download any software to attend (simply go to this website: seint.adobeconnect.com/seiwebinar/). However, you must obtain the password to enter the room. To obtain the password, please e-mail myself (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) - or use the contact button to the left of this post - or e-mail Arno Rosemarin (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Once recorded, the webinar will be put online on the SuSanA Youtube channel in this Playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0gMdVBup...ymOPomtqL_XYT5YtLTSK

We have found these webinars to be an excellent tool to exchange on research approaches and results and to hear directly from the "horse's mouth" what the achievements and difficulties are with these projects that have been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

This is the seventh webinar in a series since July 2013 with the aim to give increased exposure to the BMGF research grants, which are also discussed on the SuSanA Discussion Forum (see above and the thread for the first four webinars in 2013 (forum.susana.org/forum/categories/139-ge...s-in-2013-number-1-4) to see past recordings).

Our main aim with these webinars is to have interesting discussions: this is not a one-way street but an exchange in both directions. The chat function in the webinar as well as the webcams (optional - for those users with a sufficiently fast internet connection), makes the webinar come alive!

We look forward to meeting you there. We can accommodate up to 100 people in this virtual meeting room - book your spot now!

Regards,

Elisabeth & Arno


P.S.
For anyone wishing to know more technical details about Adobe Connect and sound performance, here are some further IT details:

• You need 0.5 MB/s bandwidth for good sound performance. You need at least 4-5 MB/s bandwidth to also have a webcam connected. You can test your bandwidth speed for example with this website: www.speedtest.net/
• Your internet connection should be wired and not WILAN if possible. The reason for this: WLAN/WIFI is a risk in offices where many people are connected. Cable will keep the webcams rolling (WILAN is the same as WLAN). It all depends on bandwidth variability. WILAN can be a problem for multi-users. Bandwidth can vary more using a WILAN connection if there are several users sharing the modem. At home there is less risk of variability if the internet is delivered by wire to your house and you are the sole user over WILAN. But if you are buying your internet from a mobile source (ie nearby 3G or 4G source), that can be a major problem. Then it doesn’t matter if you are using WILAN or cable since the original signal is 3G or 4G. The determinant there is bandwidth.
• Make sure to use an earphone or headset. Without this you will not be given microphone access (earphone is a speaker placed in the ear). This allows for use of the computers built in microphone. Feedback is stopped and there are no problems. Headset is a microphone and earphones. Best is a USB headset. Double cable (green/red) will work well as long as this is a direct connection to the computer.
• Test your connection with Adobe Connect: seint.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm
• Get a quick overview about Adobe Connect: www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html