india

NAME: The Ponnankoil Middle School Project

WHERE: Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India

WHAT: Build a sanitation block, create a garden to grow vegetables and bananas fertilized by the compost generated, and train the children and teachers how to use the facilities.

HOW MUCH: $2,072.00

PARTNER: Wherever the Need

Ponnankoil is a village of 717 people on the banks of a small river in the Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu, India. With population density ranked 7th in all of India, Tamil Nadu was one of the worst affected by the 2004 tsunami. Despite the cultural legacy of India, the Scheduled Caste, or untouchables, subsist in dire conditions in the rural and semi-urban communities of Cuddalore District.

The main livelihood of the community is agriculture, with land being owned by a few families, worked by others as laborers. The average income of a family is approximately Rs. 2,500 per month ($49), but they only have employment for 6 to 8 months of the year; for the rest of the time, most of the community seeks employment in local brick kilns.

Within the village, there are 12 shallow wells/hand pumps, and also 14 public taps connected to a 30,000 liter storage tank, but this supply is very intermittent. 25 families have pit latrines, but none of them are in use. They are flooded because the close proximity of the Vellar River means the water table in the village is close to the surface. This results in pollution of the river by raw sewage, and contamination of drinking water in the shallow wells.

The focus of our water and sanitation project is toilet and hygiene facilities for the 266 children of Ponnankoil Middle School. The toilets are Ecosan and not only help prevent disease but provide rich compost for growing fruits and vegetables. The sanitation block will be planted with a banana and vegetable garden alongside, to make use of the fertilizer and compost created and to supplement the diets of the children. Read more about Ecosan toilets here.