A new venture/journey into faecal sludge management (India)

Birupakshya Dixit (India)

When I joined Practical Action in June 2015 as Program Coordinator – India, I had hardly any prior experience with FSM and one of my responsibilities was overseeing two projects on sanitation/FSM. Despite limited time, I started reading existing material and articles on FSM on the web but these were not sufficient to get enough knowledge. I even went on exposure visits to Bangladesh and Malaysia where I saw existing and continuing FSM units, but it was the online course that I followed that gave me clarity on FSM. I became more confident on the issue and by the time I completed the course, I was in a position to guide many others on FSM. Everything I studied in the course was quite new for me and it has helped me tremendously to build my capacity on the subject matter. Some of the areas worth mentioning are: understanding the basic principles; quantifying FS; various technological options for FS treatment as well as reuse options which are in practice in different countries; and creating an enabling environment for FSM.

In my work, this particular course has helped me to understand the different technologies of treatment available for FSM and also the feasibility of diverse locations and situations. On that basis I was able to finalize on the technology we could use for our projects in Odisha. More specifically the learning on sludge quantification helped us to arrive at the right capacity of the FSTP that we are planning. Being in a leadership position now, I am much more confident than before in leading FSM projects.

The course has helped me to build my confidence which matters a lot in my professional career. I am now able to talk with different people and guide my team members on FSM.

About the author

Birupakshya Dixit (India)

Practical Action Program Coordinator – India

+91 94370 31660 Birupakshya.dixit@practicalaction.org

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Anne Nakagiri (Uganda)

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Disclaimer

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