LAUFEN celebrates the World Toilet Day with a project for the Harrison’s Primary School in Mombasa, Kenya

Posted in News, Projects on 19 November, 2024

In 2022, the Swiss non-profit association Harrison’s Primary School, founded in 2018 to support the eponymous school in Kenya, approached LAUFEN for assistance in upgrading their bathrooms. LAUFEN enthusiastically supported the project, which was completed in 2023, providing modern and functional toilets for over 200 students and staff.

World Toilet Day, observed annually on 19th November, highlights the importance of universal access to sanitation. This year, LAUFEN marks the occasion by showcasing its impactful contribution in Kenya. The initiative was established in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization, and in 2013 the United Nations passed a resolution establishing the celebration as one of its official world days.

In 2019 LAUFEN launched the pioneering urine-separation toilet save! that meets the latest industry standards. The innovative save! toilet, developed in collaboration with Austrian design studio EOOS, separates urine from other waste, enabling it to be reused as fertiliser. This technology not only conserves water but transforms waste into a sustainable resource.

From simple pit latrines to accessible LAUFEN save! toilets for disabled people. Top: Harrison’s School. Every franc donated goes 100% towards building this school for disadvantaged children near Mombasa. All images by Joshua Schmidli.

This revolutionary toilet was included in a water saving and sanitary redevelopment project in Harrison’s Primary School. Located in an area with scarce rainfall and limited infrastructure, the school relied on basic pit latrines, creating an urgent need for intervention. As part of the redevelopment project, LAUFEN donated six innovative save! toilets, enabling a sustainable approach to water and waste management. These toilets play a key role in minimising water use, locally treating wastewater, and collecting urine to be repurposed as fertiliser. Today, students benefit from dignified facilities, a school vegetable garden, and a circular system that conserves water while supporting food production.

“When we heard about the project in Kenya it was crystal clear to us that we wanted to support this initiative. As one of the global leading brands in sanitation and bathroom technology, it is our aim to act as ambassadors and introduce new technologies to global markets in order to make people’s daily lives easier. With our separation toilet save! we can ensure that the school kids have safe and hygiene access to sanitation.” Sebastian Schmidt, Head of Sales Switzerland, LAUFEN Schweiz AG.

Left: The urine trap is entirely imperceptible to the user, as save! has deliberately been designed to look like a standard WC pan! Right: The separation of urine inside the WC pan is ensured by the sophisticated geometry inside the ceramic bowl.

This new style of WC pan uses the concept of Source Separation Technology, in which urine is diverted from the remaining wastewater through a channel inside the toilet bowl. The different waste streams can then be more efficiently processed, allowing valuable resources to be recovered. Human urine is rich in phosphor and nitrogen, which are valuable resources for the production of fertiliser. In many parts of the world, however, these substances currently end up discarded in natural bodies of water, where they lead to a dangerous overstimulation of growth of aquatic plants and algae.

The separation of urine inside the WC pan is ensured by the sophisticated geometry inside the ceramic bowl, without the need for any mechanical or electronic aids. Surface tension, also called the teapot effect, ensures that the urine is directed towards the urine trap, a separate outlet integrated into the ceramic body. Solids, toilet paper and the flush water are all sent down the usual siphon. The urine trap is entirely imperceptible to the user, as save! has deliberately been designed to look like a standard WC pan!

The hand-washing facility works with drinking nipples for pigs to minimize water consumption.

Harrison’s Primary School has also provided a faeces treatment system: faeces are flushed with minimal water into a worm filter, where earthworms transform the waste into nutrient-rich compost daily. After a year of storage, this compost can fertilise the newly established vegetable garden. The remaining liquids are pre-filtered and flow into a wetland area. Here, sand and reeds filter the water for several days, after which it is pumped up, purified, and reused for toilet flushing. A perfectly circular system!

The water used in the hand washing stations comes from rainwater collection tanks and to reduce waste, drinking nipples for pigs are used which allow the water to flow only when touched.

Joshua Schmidli, founder of the Swiss non-profit association Harrison’s Primary School: “Our worms like faeces but not urine! The LAUFEN save! toilets played a key role in enabling us to implement a completely self-sufficient sanitation system. Powered solely by rainwater and solar power, we can keep operating costs to a minimum. This reduces our dependence on future donations and teaches children and staff how to use scarce resources sustainably.”

This project demonstrates how innovation can transform vulnerable communities, paving the way for a more sustainable and dignified future for all.

About LAUFEN
Since 1892 the Swiss manufacturer LAUFEN enables bathroom experiences for body and soul. The company offers today holistic bathroom culture with a focus on sustainability, excellent design, innovation and technological leadership coming from a long tradition of high-quality craftsmanship. With its vision of the bathroom as a living environment, everything at LAUFEN, from the ceramic fixtures and faucets to the bathtubs, furniture, mirrors, accessories, and even the installation systems and hidden features, is innovative, heart-warming and radiates a unique aesthetic appeal.

LAUFEN’s head office is located in Laufen, a city very near Basel. The company owns six production sites in central Europe.

SUSTAINABILITY
LAUFEN’s mission statement includes a comprehensive responsibility for economically, socially and ecologically sustainable development for all generations. To ensure that the good feeling of purity and security in the bathroom can be enjoyed without any worries, LAUFEN designs its products to be as climate-friendly, environmentally friendly and socially responsible as possible – from the selection of materials and production to delivery, use and recycling. The company is aware that this is a continuous process that needs to be permanently developed and readjusted.

In 2021, LAUFEN, as part of the Roca Group, has joined the United Nations Global Compact, a worldwide pact between companies and the UN that aims to build stronger corporate practices for a more sustainable and inclusive future.

www.laufen.com