Sanitation is a cornerstone of the fight against poverty. To meet this challenge and to spread good practice, Tesari adopted sanitation services in terms of community health benefits as one of its projects.
In 2013, Dr. James Gaite, the director of the Tesari Clinic in Toledo, described the alarming state of open defecation in the Philippines. After conducting extensive research, Tesari Foundation concluded that the Anaerobic Digestion Pasteurization Latrine (ADPL) system developed by Dr. Marc Deshusses of Duke University had the greatest promise of advancing our goal of providing access to clean toilets in the Philippines.
The ADPL system provides self-contained and energy neutral on-site sanitation using anaerobic digestion of human wastes to generate biogas, and then uses the biogas to pasteurize the treated effluent. The system operates by gravity flow
(no pumps), is constructed using local resources and can function with minimal maintenance. The ADPL concept has been successfully demonstrated in lab and field conditions.
Two systems now provide barangay residents in Toledo City with an improved, comfortable and sanitary solution. Each system has multiple stalls, doors for privacy and a porcelain pedestal toilet.
Tesari Foundation recognizes that good sanitation is vital to good community health. We intend to install many more toilet systems which will lead to improved food and energy, security and economic activity.
