Research Update: Expanding EkoLakay with Targeted Subsidies
Sakapfet Okap / SOIL EkoLakay agent collecting a container from client
“Haiti is a developing country, and faces constant, significant challenges, but you cannot take away the Haitian people’s aspiration for a better future.” - Winnie Felix-Jean SOIL Research Director
At SOIL, we view sanitation as part of a larger framework of systems and partnerships that enable more people in Haiti to access the essential services they need to live healthy and dignified lives. As we expand the EkoLakay service into new regions and neighborhoods around Cap-Haitien, equitable access is at the heart of our approach.
Similar to many urban areas of other developing countries, high-quality sanitation services in Haiti are often out of reach for low-income families. Currently, EkoLakay clients pay around 350 gourds ($2-3 USD a month) to “rent” an EkoLakay toilet. This payment, along with revenue from compost sales, helps offset the costs of toilet production, waste collection, and transportation. However, it cannot cover the full costs of a public service, a part of which needs to be borne by the public sector.
Our survey data consistently shows that cost is the biggest barrier preventing families from adopting the EkoLakay service. In many cases, families must face impossible trade-offs in their household–choosing between a toilet and other essential needs.
“No one wants to live without a toilet in their home. Those with little to no access want better for themselves and their families, and they are aspiring for better. Our job–along with the work of our research team–is to find the best way to assist them in this pursuit.” - Winnie Felix-Jean
SOIL’s research team has been diligently collecting household data through use of the Equity Tool and Community Stakeholder Interviews to inform EkoLakay’s expansion and explore the potential for sanitation subsidies.
Can SOIL Responsibly Introduce Targeted Sanitation Subsidies?
As EkoLakay grows, SOIL and the Haitian Ministry of Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) have worked together to ensure that SOIL’s mission aligns with the Haitian government’s national sanitation strategy, which requires sanitation providers to implement market-based approaches for service provision.
DINEPA has a policy in Haiti against the free provision of sanitation services that stems from the historical impact of NGOs offering free services that distort local markets, create dependency on foreign subsidies, and leave communities without sustainable solutions once the NGOs depart. Offering discounts on our services is a delicate matter.
And although SOIL has previously offered temporary rebates during events like floods or economic shocks to prevent clients from leaving the service, creating a standardized approach to support families is a new approach for us. In this research phase, it is critical to collect advice from the communities that EkoLakay serves and work closely with the sanitation authorities to ensure that our approach is in-line with their policies. As such, targeted discounts will likely be provided for limited periods of time to support families experiencing financial shocks rather than a commitment to long-term fee reductions.
One method in which our Research team gathers the qualitative data needed to inform these strategies is through Community Stakeholder Interviews.
Community Stakeholder Interviews
In July and August 2024, our research team met with leaders from several communes where EkoLakay’s service expansion is deemed a high priority. We discussed the impact of the EkoLakay service in their communities, SOIL’s expansion plans, and sought their guidance on identifying households that would benefit most from additional support to pay for sanitation services. We also explored each community’s experience with subsidy-based programs and their perspectives on the best approaches to investigating and implementing new service discount strategies.
“We need to target our service discounts to those who need it the most.” - Winnie Felix-Jean
As with any new venture, our conversations with community stakeholders often raised more questions than answers. While they provided valuable insights into how resources are bought and shared within the community, they also revealed the deep complexities that shape these dynamics.
Key Findings from Fort Saint Michel (Fosen Michel)
Our conversations with community leaders in Fort Saint Michel highlighted the complex realities surrounding access to sanitation:
“I know some houses where 3-4 families share the same home. Even in homes like these, having a toilet doesn’t mean everyone can use it. Some may have to pay for access, and if you can’t pay, you’re left without means of sanitation. Understanding who can afford sanitation and who can’t is very complicated.” — Community Leader, Fort Saint Michel
Leaders from Fort Saint Michel emphasized the importance of EkoLakay partnering with trusted community institutions—such as churches—to help identify households eligible for sanitation subsidies. They explained that if EkoLakay distributes the subsidies directly, it could create jealousy among neighbors due to skepticism about an external NGO’s ability to fairly select recipients.
“For example, if a priest helps cover part of the service cost for those in need, it causes fewer issues because the priest is well-trusted and respected in the community.” — Community Leader, Fort Saint Michel
Key Findings from Caracol (Karakol)
In Caracol our research team met with leaders from organizations like the Association of Devoted Youth for the Development of Sports and Culture of Caracol (AJDDSCC), The Collective for Just Progress (KOP), and the Association of Maritime Brigadiers in the Action of Caracol (ABMAC).
During these conversations, community leaders strongly emphasized the role of youth as advocates for sanitation. They highlighted that students can be powerful agents of change from within their own families.
“An important group to target in terms of sensitization is the schools. Children are very influential in their families. It’s of great value if they use a toilet at school and understand its importance.” - Community Leader, Caracol
Leaders also highlighted the value of trust and familiarity in effectively addressing sanitation needs within the community.
"People often feel ashamed to discuss their sanitation conditions with strangers, but if they are familiar with you, it becomes easier to identify those in need." - Community Leader, Caracol
To build on these insights, SOIL is currently strategizing the development of regular workshops with community leaders to continue this dialogue in Caracol.
A Conversation with the MSPP Health Directorate of Northern Haiti
In an interview with Dr. Ernst Robert Jasmin, Departmental Director of the Health Directorate of the North, also emphasized the role of public education in being a tool to effectively address community health issues.
“Awareness-raising is essential to show people that many of the health problems they face—specifically the high prevalence of typhoid—are linked to poor hygiene habits that cause diseases such as intestinal worms, typhoid, and diarrhea,” Dr. Jasmin explained.
“To mitigate the impact of these diseases on the population, decisions had to be made—one of which was to reduce open defecation.”
However, Dr. Jasmin highlighted a significant challenge: even when families have the financial means to build a pit latrine, it’s often not feasible in areas with a high water table because of the risk of contaminating the water supply.
“So they are in distress because even with sufficient money to buy the materials needed, they still don’t have the means to build a toilet,” he noted. This is where container-based sanitation solutions like EkoLakay offer a safer, more practical alternative.
Dr. Jasmin also addressed the issue of targeted-support allocation, stressing the importance of transparency when conducting wealth assessment surveys using the Equity Tool. He emphasized that “people should not think that what they say is for the benefit of a project.”
The use of the word “project” itself elicits the feeling that this is an effort on behalf of a foreign organization to provide something free of charge - which often comes with negative connotations. Instead, the people being surveyed should understand that these subsidies will support a sanitation service that has an associated cost.
To improve the accuracy and trustworthiness of household wealth assessments, Dr. Jasmin also recommended collaborating with Ministry of Health agents and local community leaders. This partnership would act as the bridge between the community and EkoLakay, fostering better communication and transparency.
“The implementation will always work with constant communication with the population,” he affirmed.
Moving Forward, Together
Research on sanitation subsidies is still in its early stages, but our team is committed to deepening our understanding of the population we serve. Today, more than ever, Haiti is facing daily economic shocks that uproot household stability and block access to an individual’s most pressing needs, underscoring the urgency of SOIL’s mission. Container based sanitation is a viable, scalable, and cost-effective solution to the sanitation needs of the country. What’s more, support and understanding of container-based toilets are growing, both within the communities in Cap-Haitien that EkoLakay serves and among local government officials.
As Edwidge Petit, Director of Sanitation at DINEPA, shares:
“Container-based sanitation (such as the EkoLakay service) adds a new option to the menu of non-collective sanitation services approved by the public WASH sector, which will allow us to reach a subset of the population which was previously out of reach due to a lack of appropriate services.”
As we continue to seek new ways to expand our market and deliver safe sanitation to residents of Northern Haiti we remain grateful for the support of the SOIL community, our team, and all of the other humans that make SOIL’s work possible. Together, we aspire to continue to design frameworks for a better and more equitable future of sanitation in Haiti.