Hello Jim,

My colleague and me from Eoos Design, we are currently working on the user interface of the blue diversion toilet (www.bluediversiontoilet.com/) Therefore we do ergonomic tests on dry toilets. I was wondering if we could test one sample of the sitting sato stools? I have seen that you will start to produce them in July and my questio is if it is possible to get one of the models?

Thanks for your reply!

Lena

Dear Jim,
I based in Nigeria. Can we see the products.

Hello Kris, Elisabeth, and SuSanA community,

Thanks to all for your questions and discussion. 2017 will be a big year for the SATO brand. Our SATO "stool" toilet (see attached) will go into production in Kenya and Nigeria starting in July, and we have several great new products coming for the Indian market. I promise more details on the latter very soon.

In addition, we are investing in new branding, marketing, and advertising for SATO (example attached), and will soon be launching a website that will provide easy access to information on our products, their features and benefits, and how/where to purchase them.

Our vision is to build SATO into the first complete brand of bathroom products for the base of the pyramid. I'm looking forward to collaborating with many of you to make that happen.

Jim

Just so that people can believe this innovation is really ending up in the hands of consumers: a few weeks ago I found this very nice presentation of the SATO in local hardware store in Arua, northern Uganda:

The stated price is slightly less than US $5, which can be considered affordable even to relatively poor households here in Uganda and it was very prominently displayed in front of the store.

I found a website which has some information about the SaTo pan which could be helpful. It is by the Japanese company Lixil:
www.lixil.com/en/sustainability/activities/sanitation.html

and here;
www.lixil.com/en/stories/stories_02/



From their website: Lixil is the most comprehensive and connected global company in the housing and building industry, delivering human-centric innovation that enhances people's living spaces.

I got onto this as I was looking through grants of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, adding them to our project database and found this one in their public grant database:
www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Quic...s/2016/08/OPP1150379

Date: August 2016
Purpose: to accelerate access to and increase use of affordable sanitary products for rural and peri-urban communities across ten target countries by enabling an additional 11 million people to obtain improved sanitation products by the end of 2020
Amount: $1,487,500

Nice to see that this is such a long sustained effort and that this is really going to scale now at a very low cost. Well done!

I believe that Jim McHale had a huge part in this. It says on the Lixil website:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has supported various toilet projects, funded through its Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. Many involve complex and expensive concepts that aim to generate energy and fuel sources from waste. But Jim McHale, who has a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry and was leading research and development for American Standard, favored a surprising solution that leveraged what LIXIL does best: developing efficient toilets.

LIXIL is among a growing number of companies turning their attention to low-income or "bottom of the pyramid" consumers in developing countries. With their extensive knowledge and skills, these companies seek innovative and inexpensive solutions for societies that lack access to sanitation, water, education and technology.

I have also created a special sub-sub-category here on the forum for the SaTo pan due to its significance:
forum.susana.org/sato-pan-latrine-with-closing-flap

Regards,
Elisabeth

Thanks for the information Jim. I appreciate that.

Ashenafi

Hi All,

I am very interested in the potential of the SaTo products over here in Cambodia in areas that experiences drought or extended seasonal periods with no rainfall. Sourcing water for standard ceramic pour-flush latrines can be a significant burden or discouragement for households to build a latrine.

I would be very interested to hear about anyone's experience with the SanBox product (which includes the foot-plate and distribution chamber as well as the SaTo pan). To me the SanBox product looks to be functionally & visually similar to a ceramic pour-flush squat pan and I think this will be important in its desirability in Cambodia.
Has anyone imported the SanBox product to their country from Bangladesh?

I also think that having a website with information on each of the SaTo products, as well as contact details for further information or product supply will be valuable.

Andrew

Ashenafi,

SATO products are currently manufactured in Bangladesh, Uganda, and Kenya. By July we will be manufacturing and distributing in India and Nigeria as well.

The door design that will be produced across Africa does not require addition of concrete. The geometry itself provides the counterweight.

We will soon be launching a website with all of the product variations and numbering. I will post a link when it goes live.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Are the SaTo products still produced only in Bangladesh and Uganda?

I see the counterweight cup design of SaTo pans manufactured in Uganda are different from the Bangladesh ones so that the flap require less water to open. Please can you explain the counterweight cup design of the Uganda version and the fill up procedure during installation? Does it also require concrete to fill it?

How many versions of different SaTo pan products are manufactured so far? Do they have product or model names to identify one version with another?

Are there any developments on the ceramic model of SaTo pan?

Thank you
Ashenafi

Hi Chris, I see from other sources that you've already managed to get in touch with RFL Plastics in Bangladesh. I'll try to answer some of your questions below:

1) I am not aware of a SaTo being applied in an Arborloo but do not see why it couldn't work.

2) SaTo products are currently produced in Bangladesh and Uganda but can be shipped anywhere in the world. The contact addresses for order placement are:

Crestanks, Limited
Plot No. 265 Jinja Road, Bweyogerere—Namanve.
P.O. Box 11381, Kampala (Uganda).
Tel No1: +256-312-262-015
Tel No2: +256-312-262-016
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.crestanks.co.ug/

Or

PRAN‐RFL GROUP
PRAN‐RFL Center
05 Middle Badda, Dhaka‐1212, Bangladesh
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.rflplastics.com

3) The products in Bangladesh and Uganda are intentionally different. The Uganda version uses less water and can be more easily installed without concrete. The Bangladesh version requires more water to "flush" but can be connected to a 4" pipe and offset pit via a second part sold by RFL called the "SaTo Connection Box."

4) The Uganda version could, in theory, be flushed with anal wash water. The weight of the waste itself is usually sufficient to open the door. The pan only requires rinsing after use to clean adhered material. This can be done with spray bottle made by punching a small hole in the cap of a PET water bottle.

5) We keep a small inventory at American Standard HQ in New Jersey and can ship small orders (<10 pieces) from there.

Thanks,

Jim

Dear Jim,

How are things going with the SaTo pour-flush squat pan?

Has anyone tried SaTo pans in ArborLoos? I am advising on a project for 250 persons in a periurban/rural area on a far-flung Indonesian island, which seems like a great location for such a trial, as there is no flooding and the soil seems dry and absorbent, plus the users are squatters and washers.

Is anal wash water sufficient to flush a SaTo? (How much water do washers use?)

Can you sell us 50 SaTo pans? Are they sold in Indonesia? Can they be shipped from Bangladesh? Can they be purchased in the USA? Any chance of a donation in the interest of piloting the SaTo in ArborLoos?

Thanks for your help. Keep up the good work.

Best wishes,
Chris Canaday