The ‘no smell, no flies’ feature of the pan has sparked great interest and motivation for other households to dig their own pits within the community unit. At the time of our visit, an additional five SATO latrine pans and five SATO stools were handed over to Chief Galgalo to support the distribution and installation, bringing the total number to 12.

These achievements prove that behavior change communication is a strategy that works, and even more effective when natural leaders are used as ambassadors of change leveraging their influence on the community.

Members of ACK church are among the community members of Nduru Village in Kenya who are today using SATO toilets.

Rose Ochieng, the area’s Community Health Volunteer, introduced some SATO products during a church service, drawing interest from the congregation. Through the savings the church gets from offerings, it set aside KES 3,000 (US$30) for two SATO toilet stools and two SATO latrine pans. The ablution block now features two door latrines and bathrooms segregated by gender.

Jacob Ariek, who is the church’s custodian and a fisherman by day, volunteered to install the SATO products at the church at no cost. The work he has since done installing SATO at the homes of his congregation’s members has given him an alternative avenue of earning a living.

Silas and Christine Juma live with their five children in Rabuor village in Siaya County, Kenya. The family was among the first in the county to install the SATO toilet.

Christine, a Community Health Volunteer (CHV), heard of the benefits of a SATO toilet in her Community Unit group. The group purchased 70 latrine pans to resell in their villages, while Silas and Christine bought one for KES 500 (US$5).

Deciding to install it himself, Silas dug a pit latrine and built the superstructure. Two months later, he retro-fitted the SATO toilet using mud, raising it to make the cleaning

process easier. His wife then applied a traditional plaster material made of mud and cow dung for durability and to make it look appealing.

“This technology is good because there are no flies and no smell. The latrine is near the road and no one has ever complained about the smell,” says Silas.