Adoption of EcoSan toilet-generated human waste manure (Malawi)

In Malawi, Mzimba North specifically Ekayiweni area, management of human waste and food insecurity has been an issue despite people being trained on the use of EcoSan toilets. This study assessed the adoption of EcoSan toilet-generated human waste as manure in Ekayiweni Traditional Authority Mopho Jere in Mzimba district. It was a cross-section study design which used a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant and observation from a sample size of 86. SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data with content analysis for the qualitative. The study findings showed that adoption rate of human waste manure was low (39%). The study further found that factors such as: social-cultural barriers including gender issues, lack of motivation, un-friendly technologies used to harvest the manure, lack of scaling-up mechanisms, and lack of stakeholder guidance towards the use of human waste manure all contributed to low adoption of human waste manure in Ekayiweni area. Lack of human waste manure use promotes poor management of human waste and increases food insecurity in the area. The study recommended stakeholders to promote and motivate people to adopt the EcoSan toilet-generated human waste through sensitization meeting, trainings and provision of low-cost materials for construction of ecosan toilets.