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Abstract:The Sustainable Development Goals will challenge low-and middle-income settings to look at new approaches for rural sanitation. In 2013, Mzuzu University, in partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Malawi, started a low-cost latrine program in rural areas using the corbelled latrine design supported by locally owned sustainable businesses. The objective of this work was to trace customers (early household adopters) and non-customers through field observations and interviews in 15 districts of Malawi. The research team spent 193 personnel work days in data collection and found 21 households as adopters in 7 districts. Most respondents had a preference with regard to the design of the sanitation facility they would like to use. Although sharing of sanitation facilities was common, the corbelled latrine is promoted as a single household pit latrine design. Unfortunately, 8% (23/304) of non-adopters responded they practiced open defecation. Households were satisfied with the corbelled latrine design, and no latrine was found to have collapsed during field visits. To promote the corbelled latrine in Malawi, the following are recommended: (1) education of frontline government extension workers towards non-subsidized household latrines; (2) identification of rural low-income households as the best target for potential adopters; and (3) linkage of low-cost sanitation technologies to community mobilization campaigns led by the government, such as Community Led Total Sanitation.

For fecal sludge from households in low- and middle-income countries to be treated offsite it needs to be removed, which can be greatly affected by the pit latrine floor design. However, it is unclear whether precast pit latrine concrete floors (latrine slabs) can withstand emptiers and their equipment. To investigate this issue, 28 prefabricated latrine slabs were purchased in two cities of Malawi. They were first visually evaluated, and then their compression strength was tested. Additionally, each seller was asked a series of questions to better understand their business, training, and construction practices. Results showed that households should perform due diligence to ensure that they are purchasing a safe precast latrine slab. Commonly reported problems included nonstandard reinforcement material and spacing, in addition to slabs that were not thick enough or were not large enough in diameter. The results of this research illustrate the inherent complexity in ensuring high-quality decentralized sanitation solutions and how one component, the user interface, if implemented poorly, can affect the rest of the value chain. The findings from this work can help inform training and initiatives that engage artisans and suppliers who play a role in the provision of onsite sanitation service delivery.

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The lower Shire valley region in Malawi has long been characterized by floods which have accounted for many fatalities and disaster-related economic losses in the region. Rain-fed crop production has also been adversely affected by such floods, subsequently leading to the region registering the highest levels of poverty in the country due to low agricultural crop production. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods and based on what is practiced in the region and elsewhere, recommended strategies that would lower the risk of engaging in crop production under floodwater harvesting. Study results revealed that farmers in the region have sought to dig networks of water ponds and shallow wells as coping strategies to future water scarcity at a scheme level. The absence of well-designed networks of field waterways in the irrigation schemes results in an unequal distribution of floodwaters among field plots. The study concluded that in addition to digging a network of shallow wells and small water ponds to enhance infiltration of floodwaters and increasing groundwater recharge, a resilient and low-risk package of the floodwater harvesting system in the region must also include (1) construction of floodwater diversion structures to increase the chances of flooding even from relatively small rainfall storms, (2) construction of floodwater field distribution channel networks to facilitate field to field distribution of floodwaters, and (3) formulating water distribution rules to enhance equal floodwater distribution among field plots.