Md Toriqul Islam
Senior Technical Manager
NGO Forum for Public Health, Dhaka
Email: toriqul.ce@gmail.com


The aim of this project is to ensure safely manage faecal sludge in urban areas of Mymensingh City Corporation. The system was designed to ensure safe management of faecal sludge, a co-compost which tackles faecal sludge generated from pit latrines and septic tanks, and solid waste from households exploring sanitation service chain through reduced public health risks and environmental hazards.

My learnings from the Tools and Approaches for Citywide Water and Sanitation Management Training programme (2018) helped me with designing and guiding the technical and technological aspects of FSM as the Team lead. These aspects include understanding of Faecal Sludge & Septage and its characterization and quantification of FSM, containment systems, city sanitation plan, Shit Flow Diagram (SFD), different methods and means of collection and transportation of faecal sludge, objectives, different mechanisms and treatment methods and operation, maintenance and monitoring of FSTP.

Dhiman Halder
Senior Officer-Capacity Building, Practical Action
Faridpur, Bangladesh
Email: dhiman.halder@practicalaction.org


My passion is to conduct trainings for capacity building on Urban Planning and Management and in this pursuit, I attended the International Training on Tools and Approaches for Citywide Water and Sanitation Management, 2018. I have conducted near about 10 batches of Faecal Sludge Management Training and near about 12 batches of formal discussion sessions on sustainable wastewater management. CSE helped me to emphasise on green infrastructure for sustainable solutions and promote 3R policy, which I also ascertain to include in my discussions. I promote rainwater harvesting, proper management of kitchen waste and faecal waste. I feel more confident to conduct sessions on sanitation safety planning and faecal sludge management after attending the trainings conducted by CSE.

Shilpa D N
Assistant Professor
Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore
Email: shilpadn13@gmail.com


My main objective of attending the training on "Nature Based Solutions Training Programme, 2018" was to disseminate the acquired knowledge to the students. Based on the knowledge gained from training, I guided the students of PG (M Arch – Landscape Architecture) and UG (BE – Civil Engineering) to propose rain water harvesting systems as a part of their projects. This enhanced their ability to implement wastewater management solutions practically. With that knowledge, students were able to conduct survey and prepare water budget which helped them to estimate the amount of water availability and water demand. Students were able to propose conveyance, treatment and storage units for self-sustained units. UG students of BE – Civil Engineering also developed a compact filtration system with locally available materials (coconut coir and charcoal). I also designed two projects to train students for water management system.

Kedarisetti Hridya
Student
School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
Email: hridya.manya@gmail.com

The Advanced Urban Lake Management Training programme, 2019 helped in an academic project, to create an Urban Open Space System along the highly polluted Najafgarhnala, Delhi. Learning to consider each stakeholder involved while making an action plan streamlined this large scale project to have a clear vision, revitalize the edge of a densely inhabited GTB Nagar, connect people to the flowing waterway and inspire an attitude of conservation.

Following the inspiration of AAETI to disseminate knowledge, I took up a Student awareness workshop during my vacations. I talked to 400 students of 8th standard about the environmental crisis, citing the present case of Chennai, gave a few inspirations to look up atand further presented landscape architecture too for bridging the city to the environment.

The awareness program was well received by the students and the faculty of the school. It was also published in the daily newspaper.

Margaret Mbinya Kasuki
Lecturer, Kenya Water Institute
Kenya- Kitui
Email: margaretkasuki@yahoo.com


I want to work towards improving sanitation status in Kenya, help people know the current status of sanitation and the approaches applied in our context. Sanitation should be everybody’s concern and responsibility. I attended the Sanitation Safety Planning Training Programme (8-12 October, 2018) and have since written a review paper on faecal sludge management in Kenya, designed an operation and maintenanceonsite sanitation facilities training manual (currently underreview by management). I routinely train and lecture students. I also carried out community outreach programmes on water, sanitation and hygiene (wash) in Kwa-Vonza primary school on 3rd April 2019. I presented the review paper on faecal sludge management in Kenya in a WASPA international conference held in Kenya, Nairobi from 8th – 10th May 2019. I also examine students at the end of the training period over subjects on Sanitation. I hope to prepare more papers on sanitation and sensitise primary school pupils and communities on sanitation in Kenya.

Nayruti Mistry
Urban Planner, Planning Solutions,
Vadodara, Gujarat
Email: nayrutimistry2@gmail.com




I work as an urban planner in a planning consultancy firm ‘Planning Solutions’ based in Vadodara, Gujarat. We prepare masterplans, zonal plans and special purpose plans for our clients I attended the training programme on ‘Urban Wetlands Management’ (25th - 28th Sept., 2019), and I have been able to use the knowledge in a particular project of ours.

A lake was developed in Vadodara, which falls in amidst the urbanized area. The initial project objective was to develop the space as a recreational hot-spot by providing jogging tracks around the periphery. A patch of vegetated land was identified along the periphery, which exhibited a rich biodiversity. The objective of the study was modified to include conservation of the patch. Consequently, the design of the jogging track was modified into a C-shape design, leaving the patch untouched. The decision to save the patch was mutually agreed at FGDs with stakeholders which included the residents in the vicinity, the private developer and the collector of the district. Other measures include the coir made from coconut skin for pitching, as it allows percolation of water. A part of the patch was still impacted due to anti-social activities; however, the patch is now fenced and protected from further deterioration.



The learnings of the training on flora and fauna of wetlands, stakeholder review, etc. have helped me improve my projects. I hope to continue impacting development projects to include sustainable practices and inclusive decision making.

Senthil Mani
PROFESSOR, MARG Institute of Design and Architecture Swarrnabhoomi
Cheyyur, Kancheepuram
Email: ar.senthilmani@gmail.com




I am a professor of architecture and a researcher in the field on urban ecology. I want to learn about sustainable urban water management and wish to impart my knowledge to my students, and use the learnings to strengthen the research and academic community. I attended the training programme on ‘Urban Wetlands Management’ (25th - 28th Sept., 2019), and I have since written and presented my research paper at NICMAR conference titled: ‘Analyzing the Influence of Ecological Aspects in Urban Spaces for Sustainable Development: A case study of Chennai’ (ICCRIP 2018 conference - Paper ID: NIC-IC2018-0098-F1).

Apart from this, I have delivered a guest lecture conducted by UNESCO-AARDE at Anna University on topic ‘Eco-spaces’. I routinely deliver lectures on urban wetlands to students and faculties. In terms of taking the learnings forward, I am pursuing my PhD on the topic: ‘Identifying ecological aspects in urban open spaces’. The training programme has added to my research. I hope to continue this journey and conduct further research and disseminate knowledge.

Raghu Soma
Environmental Engineer, Sircilla Municipality
Sircilla, Telangana
Dates: July 10-13, 2018
Email: raghu.fsm.srcl@gmail.com




I work as an Environmental Engineer in Siricilla Municipality in Telangana State, India. As a municipal engineer, I have to deal with various infrastructure related issues in water supply, sewerage, fecal sludge and solid waste management. I have attended the online course on FSM organised by CSE in collaboration with UNESCO-IHE. In addition to that, I have attended the training programme on Nature-based Solutions for Water and Waste Management (10-13 July 2018). I have also been part of the CSE-GIZ training programmes on City Sanitation Plan.

As a cumulative impact of all this exposure provided by CSE, I played an instrumental role in designing and implementing a Feacal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) in my municipality. The town of 75,000 population (approx.) is largely dependent on on-site sanitation systems. We decided to implement an FSTP in order to address the issue of indiscriminate disposal of FS. We have constructed a 18 KLD plant, investing Rs 1.6 Crore, covering an area of 1,970 sq. m. The technology is unplanted drying bed followed by a DWWTS, which nature-based and easy to maintain and operate. The effluent has BOD less than 20 mg/L and COD less than 50 mg/L. The dried and treated bio-solids are used as soil conditioner in nearby farmlands. The wastewater collected can also be used by nearby farmlands and horticulture needs within the FSTP.



The collective learnings from all the trainings by CSE has helped me and my organisation in preparing and implementing a faecal sludge and sanitation policy for our city, by providing assistance and insight at policy level, planning and designing stage and in implementation as well. I look forward to attend future programmes and work towards sustainable urban development.