An unused shipping container procured cheaply and some world famous Indian jugaad, as he calls it — that’s all it took for filmmaker Suresh Menon to build a prototype bathroom unit with five sets of showers and toilets. He bought a 20-foot-long container into which he integrated bathroom units at a factory in Chennai.
“Bathrooms and toilets are constructed by hundreds of people but the key to building an effective one is its easy maintenance. Containers are strong and sturdy; better than the fibre glass ones that are currently used for public toilets. We see public toilets being built at astronomical sums but they soon become dysfunctional due to various reasons. As the container toilets are transportable, they can be brought back to the factory for repairs or taken away and placed at another area altogether. The fear that it could be taken away, I presume, will encourage people to take better care of it.”
Built at a cost of Rs. 7 lakh, the prototype is now placed at Manjakudi near Kumbakonam where it is being used by 50-60 women every day. After transporting the container from Chennai, an external water pipeline and electricity cables were connected to it. A separate septic tank was also built. “In most villages, women are forced to wait till it’s dark to take a bath or go to the toilet. With a toilet such as this, we’re giving them the dignity to take a bath in privacy. But this is a concept that should work for the urban poor as well. If you see places such as the Marina or the Elliot’s Beach, toilets have been built for large sums, but the lack of maintenance defeats their original purpose,” says Suresh.
However, Suresh does not see the container toilets as a social initiative alone. “On the three sides of the toilet, there are illuminated spaces where advertisements can be placed. These ads can help generate revenue that can be used to employ one or two people to maintain the toilets. It is a simple concept and changes can be made based on needs. For instance, the septic tank can be replaced by bio tanks like the ones in Kerala houseboats; solar panels on the roof can be used to electrify the toilets. The water too can be reused if we have a recycling system in place,” says Suresh, pointing out the idea’s endless possibilities.
