Team x-runner Peru

Pilot Warm-up

Today was a special day: we delivered two of our very first x-runner toilets to pilot families! It was beautiful to finally see the product in its place, to engage our users in this new experience and to see our entire team in action. In the coming weeks we’ll deliver more toilets and also start the pick-up service – so stay tuned for more exciting news! In the meantime, enjoy a few picutres.

New addition to the team!

We are excited and proud to introduce our newest team member! Loreta Haaker is a industrial design graduate from Universidad Catolica and has been working over the past years as a freelance designer. She will bring a more local, close cultural, and especially a more female touch to the project!
Welcome on board!!
http://loretahaaker.webs.com/loreta.html

Composting!

Today, Juan and Celia took us on a tour through their alma mater, the National Agrarian University of Lima, to explain to Carmen how the composting process works. As part of our preparation, we saw the different stages of composting and studied some of the organic matter that we’ll be adding to the feces collected with our toilets. Take a look at the photos!

Team Addition

    Our team has grown!!

We welcome Pepe Uechi, a freshly graduated product designer. Pepe and Jessi work together on the product development.

We welcome Celia Vásquez, a freshly graduated agricultural engineer. Celia and Isabel will elaborate the transportation and composting logistics.

We also welcome Juan Gamarra, an environmental

engineer from our local partner company Rotaria del Perú. Juan supports us with his knowledge and experience in sustainable dry sanitation and community work.

Their contribution and dedication to our work are extremely valuable! We’re excited about the motivation and fresh spirit they bring into our team!

Here’s a short video about water scarcity in Lima’s informal settlements. It’s in Spanish, but the images give a very good idea of what it’s like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPV5M_m5mzE

Peru – Lima

Before we dive into posting about our work, here some info on Lima and why water and sanitation are such a big issue here: the capital is located on the desert coast of the country. It has grown to the size of nearly 10 million inhabitants (one third of the nation’s population). The city’s informal settlements are located on the peripheries of town (to the North, South and East), on rocky desert foothills where water is scarce. Water is an expensive good here, and is delivered on an almost daily basis by truck. Sewage channels are rare and difficult to build in these areas.

You can read this article on Lima’s Pueblos Jóvenes (“Young Towns”) that shows both the challenging and the hopeful sides of the city’s peripheries:

http://cohaforum.org/2011/08/16/some-young-towns-in-lima-not-so-young-anymore/