Showing posts with label World Toilet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Toilet. Show all posts

09 November 2015

Public Toilet Lovers in Bhutan

This November 19, on the World Toilet Day, Bhutan Toilet Organization will be celebrating its first anniversary. So far in our first year of existence we have enjoyed huge support from concerned citizens and we have been able to make people talk about toilets, if nothing. We have done an online campaign Let's Make Toilet a Better Place and on the ground we have transformed the public toilet in Paro into one exemplary toilet in the country, where different groups of people came together to address the issue.

On our journey we also met some people who were experts on the issue and who also knew that it's impossible to change toilets in Bhutan, but we are very naive and would like to believe that we can change. We want to form the largest network of responsible citizens to assist government and local authorities build and maintain toilets.

So are we have about 160 members from across the country and abroad, forming a network of toilet lovers. And our first big assignment is to make every public toilet in the country clean and open to public by 19th November. So far in our assessment we found out that the public toilets across the country share similar fate; they are broken, blocked, and neglected. Therefore, our members are already briefed and they are working on their unique plan to address the issues. On 19th November we will share stories of how our members have transformed public toilets in their regions.

We are not just looking at one time cleaning campaign, our members will work with communities and local authorities to find a sustainable solution to maintaining the toilets after our event. We will continue to monitor the toilets hereafter and provide feedback to the authorities.

This year World Toilet Organization asked us to join their global event called The Urgent Run and we have registered this event with them, because transforming our public toilets is an urgency in Bhutan. We also received approval from the Health Ministry and appreciation from the Health Minister himself. But without any financial support so far our members will have to improvise and fund the event through their own local initiatives.



Following are few pictures of Public Toilets in our Country:

Bumthang

Trongsa

Mongar
If you wish to Join us as a member, Register below:

19 November 2014

Do You Give a Shit?

Today is my beloved wife's birthday and it gave me double joy to discover that it coincides with World Toilet Day. We have been working on the idea of Bhutan Toilet Organisation ever since I became a member of World Toilet Organisation, but this year we didn't have time enough to do anything grand, though the constant effort to change the relationship between us and our toilets will keep happening.

So on my dear wife's birthday and on the world toilet day I would like to humbly launch Bhutan Toilet as an informal organisation for now. Following are the pictures of toilets people sent us and we would like to seek your support in advocating the WTO's messages through a simple campaign- i.e. Send us your toilet picture.  Or your workplace. 

Chhukha Dzong Gate

Lobesa Restaurant 

Royal Academy Paro

Rinchengang School

Zangdopelri Building Thimphu
Email the pictures to passu@passudiary.com or join us on our Facebook Page to interact with us.

29 October 2014

Bhutan Toilet Organization

Who gives shit about toilets? Who even knows if there is a world organization for toilets? Well let me answer both myself. I give shit about toilets. I believe in toilets. I believe more in clean toilets. I believe most in toilet-for-all. And therefore I have become the member of WTO( World Toilet Organization) and perhaps I am the first one from Bhutan.

Since 2001 WTO has done amazing things about toilets across the world from World Toilet Day to World Toilet Summit, and World Toilet College to SaniShop. When 2.5 billion people do not have access to toilets it isn't a joke anymore. When over 1 billion people have to face the indignity of defecating in the open every day toilet deserves to be thought about and talked about.

As a member of WTO, I wish to do a little something during the World Toilet Day (19 Nov) this year, for which I have created a Facebook Page to gather some support for my ideas to kick start. (Please Like the Page: https://www.facebook.com/BTO.org). I am looking forward to a Photo Exhibition of Toilet in Bhutan, perhaps virtual to get a sense of what sort of toilet culture we have in our country before anything. I am expecting people to send in entries beginning Nov 1, 2014.
For now I have no formal linkages with WTO or any organizations here in Bhutan but groundworks are almost happening in terms of taking BhutanToilet,org beyond paper ideas. I can foresee how relevant it's going to be for our country very soon, and even now. 

Update: 1st Nov 2014: Thanks Logo Bhutan for accepting to freely design logo for Bhutan Toilet Org. Following are the different designs they tirelessly worked on based on our feedback. The last one is chosen for now. Please kindly critic.
First Attempt


Redesigned
Recolored

Simplified and Chosen.