More than 100 Eastern Cape women have been taught to recycle faeces, and are already turning poo to profit in 14 franchises in the province.
They are also protecting children, beautifying schools, making electricity and helping save the environment.
he skills training came from Impilo Yabantu Services (IYS) as part of a programme to boost social entrepreneurship.
IYS is an implementing agent and subsidiary of Amanz’abantu, funded by the Water Research Commission and African Development Bank.
Speaking at the Women in Water and Social Entrepreneurship Summit under the broad theme of “From Research Science to Impact” at the Cambridge township resource centre next to Unathi Senior Secondary School, water affairs deputy minister Pamela Tshwete said the work being done by the women was phenomenal.
Unathi SSS is one of 302 schools in which the project has been piloted. “The women go to schools collecting faeces, which is often piling up at rural schools and can be very hazardous.
They collect it using “honeysucker” trucks, purify it, and turn it into biochar fertiliser and electricity,” Tshwete explained.
She said that in their drive to promote women in business, the franchising companies were also a tool to raise awareness in communities to use water sparingly.
“Our biggest problem is people wasting water. When you tell them to use it wisely and sparingly they tell you that water is a natural resource, a gift from God, but when there's no water they don’t talk about God, they ask my office where is the water and what are we doing about the shortage.
So there is still a lot of water education for us to do.” Tshwete said not only were the women recycling faeces but they were also rehabilitating toilets by painting and doing necessary repairs.“We fail as government to maintain and monitor our facilities. We’re always talking of building new facilities, even where we should be repairing.
This has been an eye-opening experience,” she said. Impilo Yabantu Services launched an application which aims to fast-track service delivery by identifying problems in areas of water and sanitation in 302 schools in the province.
WRC research manager Sudhir “Dr Poo” Pillay said they had designed a model of social franchising with the aim of extending consistency, pricing and quality.
“The franchises work like any business with the aim of purifying faeces.
Removing the bad bacteria and pathogens that can cause disease, is done through extensive heating, which also converts the substance into biochar, a product that can replace charcoal.”
Pillay said they were also assisting the franchisees with tapping into the market.Impilo Yabantu general manager Phil Kanise said they had also developed software for the franchisees to lodge reports of problem areas in a bid to develop service delivery.
“The IYS app is used for data collection and the mapping of all serviced areas. It also monitors all repairs being undertaken by the Impilo Yabantu franchisees.
“We are the operating company that shares its experience and know-how with franchisees. We make an agreement with the franchisees to enable them to trade under the brand of Impilo Yabantu and we equip them with the tools to operate their business under well-managed brand standards,” he said.
Social entrepreneur Nomandla Dokoda, 49, said she was a maths teacher in Dutywa when she first learnt of the project.
The mother of five jumped at the opportunity to venture into the male-dominated industry, adding it also had more financial muscle.
“After being a teacher for 15 years, I was well aware of the water and sanitation plight in our schools. That’s why I wanted to be part of a movement that was fixing the problem. I started the business with the first pilot of the project in Butterworth in 2009.
“My life has changed drastically. The business has given me financial freedom and I am doing things I could not do as a teacher. I have employed seven people so far, and together we are skilled in plumbing, construction and maintenance.”..