Mr. Branson, Let Me Introduce You To “The Power of Poop”

In our sweeping efforts to make the world a better place, we over think things. We focus on the most challenging problems that seem impossible to solve. In philanthropic pursuits, we often overlook the low hanging fruit – the problems that we can easily solve in the developing world with technology that already exists for cheap.

The Problem

Basic sanitation in Cambodia… basically, people don’t have proper places to poop. And they’re not educated on where and how to do it in a sanitary way. What does this mean?

• Over 80% lack access to sanitation
• Poor sanitation causes the death of 1.2 persons per hour, in a country with a population of only 13.8 million people.
• Lack of sanitation costs 448 million US$ per annum – 7.2% GDP

Only 2.1% of the rural population in Cambodia has access to a toilet. People poop in the open. This is based on the belief that human poop is good for crops, however there is very little knowledge on the health risks associated with this practice. They consider it a natural process and do not think of the possible hazards associated with it.

The Solution

The solution is pretty simple:

1. Build toilets.
2. Teach people how to use them.

The toilets will allow for the safe treatment of and sanitation of poop. Then it can be turned into fertilizer to be used on crops. The great thing about this education part of this project is that it’s an easily learned behaviour that sticks with people for life.

So Richard, this is a teaser. To learn more, email me here and I’ll see what I can do to set up a quick meeting. Or a talk over beer.

- Christian

For my normal readers, what I’ve done today is take a long shot. I heard that Richard Branson was in town, and I’m trying to get him to visit Idea Drunk in order to pitch this idea.