For Benson Ekiru, this was not a distant development challenge; it was the place he grew up.
“In the past, people would defecate anywhere,” he recalls. “It caused serious health problems and polluted our environment. We lived with it because there was no alternative,” Benson recalls.
That reality began to shift when Swisscontact, through the CPWASH initiative, partnered with Fresh Life, a Nairobi-based sanitation social enterprise, to pilot a market-driven sanitation model in Kakuma. Rather than delivering toilets as infrastructure alone, the initiative focused on building a local sanitation economy, placing young people like Benson at its centre.
Fresh Life trained Atoo Kakuma Ltd, a local enterprise, to install and manage pay‑for‑use Urine Diversion Dry Toilets (UDDTs). Benson was among the youth trained in installation and servicing, skills that immediately translated into income and purpose.
Less than a year after implementation began, 57 UDDTs had been installed across Kakuma’s markets and other high‑traffic public spaces. For users, the change was tangible: clean, reliable toilets where none existed before. For entrepreneurs, it marked the emergence of new and dependable livelihoods.
Crucially, the intervention did not stop at installation. Human waste collected from the UDDTs is transported by Kalwasco to Sanivation Ltd, where it is safely treated and transformed into eco‑friendly fuel briquettes. The result is a circular sanitation value chain that turns a public health risk into an economic and environmental asset.
Today, that value chain supports:
What began as a response to a sanitation gap has evolved into a diversified enterprise ecosystem, strengthening health outcomes, creating jobs, and contributing to environmental restoration.
Beyond livelihoods, the model has begun to influence behaviour and expectations.
‘’ Community attitudes have also shifted. Market users who experience the cleanliness and convenience of UDDTs increasingly request installations for homes, businesses, hotels, and bus stations; proving that behavior change follows quality and reliability’’. Benson Adds
For the Atoo Kakuma, the company Benson works with, the transformation is equally clear. Once limited to basic garbage collection, the enterprise now offers a range of sanitation services with more stable and sustainable revenue streams. Benson no longer sees himself as a casual labourer, but as a sanitation entrepreneur with a future.
Kakuma’s experience signals something larger. In contexts often defined by humanitarian need, this model demonstrates the power of private‑sector‑led, inclusive market systems to address public challenges. By linking sanitation, youth employment, circular economy principles, and climate resilience, the approach offers a replicable blueprint for other underserved regions facing similar constraints.
Benson’s story is not just about toilets; it is about how development can work differently. When local enterprise, skills development, and market incentives align, solutions become scalable, dignified, and self‑sustaining.
As Turkana looks ahead, the lesson is clear: restoring dignity and resilience does not start with handouts or infrastructure alone, but with investing in people, and the markets that allow them to thrive.
Work with us to scale enterprise‑led sanitation solutions that create jobs, protect health, and restore dignity across underserved communities.
Contact: [email protected]
The project is financed by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and Grundfos Foundation.