SOIL’s Research team takes on the Colorado WASH Symposium
SOIL's Research team attended the Colorado WASH Symposium | March 2025
What happens when sanitation experts, researchers, and practitioners from around the world gather in one place? A whole lot of passionate discussion, surprising insights, and of course, some lively debates! SOIL’s very own Maya Lubeck-Schricker (SOIL Research Consultant) and Winnie Felix-Jean (SOIL Research and Innovation Director) had the opportunity to attend the Colorado WASH Symposium March 13-14, and they came back with some interesting takeaways.
The “Big Picture” Conversations
With USAID funding shifts taking the spotlight of most discussions (most organizations in attendance were projects that are funded fully or funded in-part by USAID), this year’s symposium had a distinct energy. The symposium transformed from a platform for sharing research to a launchboard for reimagining how the sector operates as a whole. The keynote speaker, originally slated to discuss development ethics, pivoted to address the future of WASH in the face of these funding challenges.
The key message? The sector will have to adapt to be able to do more with what they have. Creativity and resourcefulness will be key to getting through funding shortfalls, and this obstacle even holds some hope for research methods to become more efficient and impactful in the face of necessary optimization.
Winnie took the stage on day one, diving into SOIL’s EkoLakay sanitation service and touching on how Results-Based Financing (RBF) can be a viable funding mechanism for essential service providers. The listening audience was intent on learning more—and many had questions about how a container-based sanitation (CBS) service logistically works, reinforcing that CBS is still an emerging concept for many in the field. Additionally, Maya showcased her research on sanitation-related quality of life. She fielded fewer research-based questions but still got plenty of curiosity about CBS.
On Friday, Maya presented her neighbor effect analysis, which examines how community-level open defecation (OD) practices influence individual household behaviors. While sanitation is both a public and a private good—social dynamics matter! Her research proves that when fewer neighbors practice OD, households are less likely to do so as well. Of course there are more details on that, but we’ll wait until her paper is published to dive in further.
Maya and Winnie also observed that many symposium attendees were surprised by how widespread open defecation is in urban areas of Haiti. One explanation for this is that Community-Led Sanitation Initiatives often prioritize education and outreach in rural communities, being that they want to target populations that have the least access to any sanitation. On the flip end, SOIL’s research and services address open defecation in densely populated urban areas, where the risk of disease outbreaks like cholera and typhoid is especially high.
Why This Matters for SOIL
Overall, the Colorado WASH symposium was a valuable space for idea-sharing, reconnecting with WASH professionals, and further advocating for CBS as a game-changing solution. Most importantly, CBS works in non-sewered environments where nothing else does and is a simpler solution to providing access to sanitation in some of the world's most complex urban environments.
What’s Next?
SOIL is committed to staying at the forefront of discussions surrounding CBS and toilet equity. We’ll continue our neighbor effect research and, as Phase II of our RBF project kicks off, we’re excited to be able to share our lessons learned with the sector. With CBS proving to be one of the first successful pilots of this funding model, we’re in a unique position to help shape the future of sustainable sanitation funding.
Big thanks to Maya and Winnie for representing SOIL and keeping these critical conversations going! We can’t wait to see what next year’s symposium brings.