Solving a Global Crisis
Jasmine Burton travels to Kenya to test a toilet that could save millions of lives.
“Everbody Poops,” is the unofficial slogan for the SafiChoo Toilet designed by industrial design major Jasmine Burton.
It’s a topic that can be difficult to talk about, but has the potential to impact half of the world’s population.
“I think for me that was kind of the light switch,” Burton says. “I’ve never had to think once about ‘Where is the bathroom?’”
In many nations, people use pit latrines that are often just buried over. Some relieve themselves in rivers or lakes used to provide drinking water. Fecal contamination leading to sicknesses caused by lack of sanitation is costing the world $260 billion dollars each year. Burton's Team Sanivation won $25,000 at Georgia Tech’s 2014 InVenture Prize for designing a device that could help solve the world’s toilet crisis.
In a whirlwind couple of months, the team of students began rapid prototyping and was able to design a device called SafiChoo that could be tested at refugee camps in Africa. SafiChoo means “clean toilet” in Swahili.
“It was very clear to me that it was a design problem, and it was something that I could work to help fix,” Burton says.
Burton took the prototype device to Naivasha, Kenya this summer to introduce it to people who could benefit from it.
“Actually going there, forming relationships with people, and having a face to a name is a completely different experience,” Burton says of the trip.
“All these refugees are experiencing this one thing. They are different people. There are different experiences. Once you are there you realize that.” she says.
The field tests of the SafiChoo toilet provided information being used to improve the design. As the idea grows, so does Team Sanivation, adding recent Georgia Tech graduate Sarah Lashinsky.
“It’s all about people,” Lashinsky says. “A conversation. It’s how you build bridges.”
The toilet continues to draw national and international attention. It was a semifinalist for the 2014 Kairos 50, an annual award recognizing the 50 most innovative ventures created by founders under the age of 25.
Next summer, the team hopes to return to Africa to test an updated version of the SafiChoo.
“If you are passionate about it, you can inspire people to help you make it happen,” Burton says.
Team Sanivation takes home the 2014 Inventure Prize.