I heard about the conference in the last minute, reworktheworld – it’s definitely an area for me to dig into as a I’m deeply interested in rural eco sanitation which definitely is part of Reworkingtheworld. So what is this about? A big conference on the reworktheworld-theme? What can possibly be done in a few days that will reworktheworld? I couldn’t sense that very much got done on the conference itself – but it surely put focus on that a lot of things are going on. We are not alone out there in the world trying to make an other tomorrow for our children. Sometimes it do feels lonely.

With my bacround as an industrial designer I felt different from the others who I came to know had a background within politics and democracy. Until I met a guy from Poland and a girl from Brazil. We spoke the same ”language”. And – of course they came from the same background as me – artists. They were both film makers within democracy.

Ecoloove started using Twitter for real during the conference as it was perfectly ok to use laptops during sessions – twittering about what you were listening to. Perfect way to remember what you actually listened to. I have a list of investors advice to innovators seeking investment. Will post it.

At the very last day of the conference at the biggest scene a show similar to the Swedish TV show ”Draknästet” took place. Innovations where presented and investors gave feedback live. In my world it’s not as easy as giving poor people innovations for them to raise from poverty. Maybe innovations can be part of a system, a service or a business idea. But not alone. Or at least not 10/10 ideas. I left the conference with the feeling that reworkingtheworld is about innovations and politics.

On the webpage I read: ”Rework the World is not done. It’s just the beginning!”. I will definitely try to come back to this conference next year. Amazing arrangement!

Foto: Annamaja Segtnan

Foto: Annamaja Segtnan

Foto: Annamaja Segtnan

Ecoloove is taking part in a Swedish competition about winning 10 000 EUROS for idea development. Vote for us every day until the 1st of May and we have a good chance of winning by taking us to the final (being among the 20 with highest number of votes).

Here´s the link: gemensamstyrka.se/ide/ekologiska-toaletter-till-fattiga-kvinnor-som-affaersverksamhet

Rösta på Ecoloove i tävlingen Gemensam styrka varje dag fram till den 1:a maj. På 24 timmar gick vi från plats 123 till 32, vi behöver vara bland de 20 högst placerade för att komma med i finalen!

Thanks a lot!

In early morning 6.00-8.00 am 23 women (who normally go to toilet in the open field) tested Ecoloove. Skeptics had said that rural women without education cannot learn how to urine separate. Urine separation went perfectly fine. All of the 23 women who tested said that they’d use the toilet daily since they liked it so much. Skeptics had also warned me regarding that no woman would want to run an Ecoloove toilet shop. Test Ecoloove shop keeper Rupal told me after the test that she’s willing to start this as a monthly work especially since her parents had praised her for doing such an important work.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Ecoloove prototype finished and photographed in near by slum area close to the factory where it was assembled.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Ecoloove interior.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

We’re at the bamboo craftmen’s workshop figuring out howto assemble the bamboo panel to the welded structure.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Outside the factory painting work in indian blue is going on..

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Samir Panchal helps us to explain in local language Gujarati how the bamboo panel shall be assembled to the metal structure.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

My French roomies Cappucine and Charlene are helping me designing Indian style door decoration all in blue textiles.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

All set for going to the factory for final assembling of the prototype.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Stina is building support for the lather.
.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Logotype painted on sample banboo panel by street logotype painter. Street logotype painter is a common occupation in Ahmedabad since most logotypes still are painted by hand.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

The prototype is finished and we’re getting help getting it out of the workshop of the bamboo craftmen.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

The bamboo family who we in cooperation with designed the panels for the Ecoloove-toilet.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Stina is assembling the flex plastic material together with Samir Panchal.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

The prototype is being transported to NID.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Buying and measuring corrugated bamboo epoxy material for the roof.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Cutting..

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Nepalese momos for lunch.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

The door design of the Nepalese restaurant in the slum is lowtech and interesting.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Magnet is keeping the door in place.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

The lids for the urine separated toilet were damaged, Stina took it to a care repairer in the slum for reparation. Looks perfect now!

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

We bought a used door in av very light weight material, though it had to be shortened. Which Stina now is doing in the workshop of NID.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

In the metal workshop with Samir Panchal and Stina again. The weled frame is finished!

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

The door fits.. And the urine separating toilet pan.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

One last visit at the bamboo craftmen again before the day is over..

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

How to connect the pipe with the urine? What kind of pieces do we need to make it turn? Photographing a tap like this will be helpful.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

On the inside of the toilet we got the advice from Sajid – teacher at toy design at NID to play around with this material, flex. It’s widely used for printing advertisement on. It’s a kind of thick textile. We hope that we’ll come in contact with printshops who can give us used flex for free. Recycling together with saved cost.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

We’re in a toilet room shop looking for pipes for the urine tanks connection from the trough.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

- Not the right stuff, wrong diameter.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Then we try to find a plastic tube with the right dimensions. We were lucky to find one in our Ecoloove blue colour directly.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

After wandering the streets of Gandhi Road in Ahmedabad one gets really tired. It’s the honking autorichas, the mopeds, the crowd and the shop owners yelling for your attention together with sunny super warm dusty dessert climate. We took one of the windling side streets off the main road to find a quiet street. In the end of the street – a little milk shop.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Mr Vaia sells us smiling the yellow coloured drink Mazaa in glass bottles. Then he asks what brings us to India. When he gets to know about ecological toilet he give us his card. Call me if you need any help, I really want to help out on this.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

- Do call me if you need help, ok?

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Later on we were going to the metal factory. We’re bringing the urine separating toilet pan.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Construction drawings..

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan
..are being carefully explained by engineer Stina Hallström.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Weld the metal profiles like this, not like that..

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

My friend Samir Panchal was also with us translating everything to the local language Gujarati. Samirs family has been in the metal business of Ahmedabad since forever. Of course his grandpa knew this metal factory manager since old times.. Some old stories were shared over chai.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

Next stop: the bamboo family. This family used to live in the jungle building directly in bamboo there. Now they’re supplied with bamboo from their relatives back in the jungle crafting products for the Indian goverment in this production hall. They have made us a sample with light weight bamboo as we required the day before.

Photo: Annamaja Segtnan

We’re bringing one of the bamboo panels with us in the car. We’re going to try to let a sign painter try to paing it directly on the bamboo. It’s very common with logo street painters in Ahmedabad.

Foto: Annamaja Segtnan

Discussing need for treatment on bamboo for a longer life time. It all depends on the bamboo quality. Fast growing bamboo will need more treatment. This bamboo is grown in the old nice eco friendly way…  

Stina, I and Sam have reached the welding metal workshop. We’re waiting for the owner.

We were impressed by some workers outside – bending steel just with muscle power and hammer.

A metal frame laying on the ground outside the metal workshop caught Stinas eye – some solutions can be used in our construction.

Saturday morning in the flat I go to the French girls room to photograph their shelfs for 100 rupees (1,5 EUROS) in light metal. This material is both light and cheap. Can be something for my prototype.

In the meanwhile Stina made the final drawings of the metal frame for the prototype. We don’t have a printer. Here we’re at a printshop.

I spotted this bamboo workshop on the way to the metal workshop. It looked like they were just making bamboo sticks.. but on the inside we found a little production hall.

In the evening one guy from the shop called us – the sample we had ordered was ready..

.. But we required a more light weight material, since our toilet is mobile. To the left – thinner bamboo boards, more light weight!

Making bamboo boards!

It’s important to keep the conversion of millimeters to feet and the other way around, in mind.

Stina and I are walking through the slum areas close to Sabarmati river in Paldi. By accident we meet Kalyan-Bhai, political leader and spokes man for the area. I met Kalyan-Bhai in doesn’t speak English and we speak very less Hindi so my friend Manoj is on the phone translating for us to the local langugage, Gujarati.

Photo: Stina Hallström.

Kalyan-Bhai is wearing the traditional headgear pagadi – a sign of status, honourship and in this case that he’s a leader.