EkoLakay Service is a Bridge to Household Sanitation in Haiti

A couple of weeks ago, SOIL’s research team met with our partners at Aquaya to explore what sanitation service demand looks like among Cap-Haitien residents who are:

1.  Not EkoLakay clients.

2. Are actively seeking a sanitation solution for their household.

3. Currently have a household toilet (such as a pit latrine) under construction. 

In this discussion, the Aquaya team posed an important question:

Are households that have already begun building a private toilet still interested in the EkoLakay service—and does SOIL install toilets in those cases?

The short answers are “yes” and “yes.” SOIL is willing to take on shorter-term clients, and often those clients stay in the service longer than they expected.

Below are some interesting data points from our research team that highlight how families use the EkoLakay service as an intermediary towards the construction of a private toilet:

• Among all EkoLakay customers installed in 2022 (n=843), 11 (1.3%) reported intent to join the service temporarily. Of those 11, 8 (73%) stayed in the service for over 12 months.

• In 2023 (n=624), 8 customers (1.3%) said they were joining temporarily, and 6 (75%) of them remained for over 12 months.

• From January 1 to May 1, 2024 (n=611), 9 customers (1.5%) reported temporary use, and 7 (78%) stayed on for over a year.

While the number of households identifying as short-term users is small, their tendency to stay on the service illustrates how EkoLakay can serve as an intentional stepping stone for households to move up the sanitation ladder. Among those who planned to use the service temporarily, most ended up staying on for more than a year, showing the extended usefulness of EkoLakay in filling that sanitation gap for as long as is needed. 

Additionally, services like EkoLakay can help increase the success of future infrastructure projects—many of which have historically failed due to lack of community uptake. EkoLakay provides households with safe, private, container‑based sanitation, helping build trust in a reliable provider that delivers high‑quality service on time. This, in turn, raises the likelihood of lasting adoption and broader public acceptance of improved private sanitation. Through these efforts, SOIL is actively laying the groundwork for rapidly expanding sanitation access across Haiti.

While the SOIL team strongly advocates for the environmental benefits of container-based sanitation—and finds the transformation of waste into compost deeply hopeful and inspiring—we are, first and foremost, here to serve people and help promote dignity, as defined by the households and communities we work with. 

SOIL does not dictate what type of toilet a household should aspire to. Instead, we exist to offer a safe and comfortable sanitation option, while continuing to advocate for sector-wide improvements in regional sanitation infrastructure and waste management. We’re invested in setting households and individuals on a path for long-term quality of life improvement, safety and security.