Aki Kiwanuka and his wife Joyce live in the village of Kito, located in the southern part of Uganda that borders Lake Victoria. Like most people in rural Uganda, they make a living from agriculture, harvesting and selling coffee beans when they become ripe.

Uganda is home to 44 million people, of which more than 80% live in rural areas. Most of the country lacks sewage systems, and the main way for these villagers to relieve themselves is to use an open pit latrine, a simple hole in the ground with no cover or flushing system.

Pit latrines are breeding grounds for flies, which can carry and transmit harmful diseases. They produce foul odors that permeate the villagers’ living spaces.

SATO knew that its innovative toilet pan technology, which had already seen success in markets like Bangladesh and India, could bring better sanitation to the people of Uganda.

SATO pans can be placed directly above open pit latrines to give families the functionality of a flush toilet, complete with a self-sealing trap door that keeps the toilet shut tight.

The trap door is counterweighted to provide the seal but remains light enough to open when a small amount of water, as little as 200ml, is poured into the pan to flush waste away. This is perfect for the arid Ugandan landscape with its lack of water infrastructure in many areas.

SATO pans stop odor and prevent disease

Mr. Kiwanuka said he was “lucky to be chosen” to have a toilet installed at his home, thanks to the help of NGOs like Water for People and UNICEF. The village of Kito was specially chosen as the first location to install and test SATO pans in Uganda, which led to it becoming known as “The Sato Village.” As part of the process, 20 local masons were trained in installing, repairing and promoting these SATO products.

After giving the families time to try out the new toilets, the SATO team returned to interview them about their experience.

“We have come to see that it is a very useful thing, improving our lives,” said Mr. Kiwanuka. “The toilet is made very well. It has a lid and is easy to clean.” (Toilets in Uganda are traditionally difficult to clean because they are often dug in a floor made of mud.)

His wife added, “Although it’s located close to our home, there are no awful smells.”

But perhaps the most important benefit is the toilet’s ability to stop flies from proliferating around the home.

Flies carry diarrheal diseases and cholera, which take the lives of thousands of people every year. UNICEF estimated Uganda’s under-5 mortality rate to be 49 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017. That’s roughly 10 times the rate of developed regions like North America and Western Europe.

Mrs. Kiwanuka explained how the SATO pan can help save lives in Uganda: “Everyone should have one...because the germs stay inside and do not spread outside. So the children will also not be so susceptible to these diseases.”

Developing new models for African markets

As it expands into new countries and communities, LIXIL’s approach is to assess the unique challenges of each area and, where necessary, create new products or adjust existing ones to fit local customer needs.

Though SATO had already developed models for other markets, the original SATO pan for Bangladesh, and the V-trap connection for India, Africa presented new challenges to overcome.

The original SATO pan contained cement within the counterweight to keep the toilet shut tight. This is fitting for nations like Bangladesh, in which cement is widely used.

However, cement is less available in rural Africa, so SATO designed a new, all-plastic counterweight for the market. This makes it easy for the Ugandan masons to install SATO pans in schools and homes.

A second challenge was the design of pre-existing latrines. Most African latrines are built with a small hole, making it difficult to install the original SATO pan as-is. To solve this problem, SATO created a second African model with an elevated pan that takes up less space in the ground and fits into the small holes of local latrines.

Whichever model a family chooses, it’s clear that this simple yet powerful, little blue toilet is making an impact in the lives of adults and children across Uganda.

“Today I’m very happy because my life will improve,” said Fred Sekamate, one of the recipients of a new SATO pan. “I won’t get flies on my food and my children and I will be healthier.”