Swiss Partners
EAWAG
www.eawag.ch
Linda Strande
Local Partner
GOAL, Sierra Leone
www.goalglobal.org
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Swiss Contribution
EAWAG is one of the world’s leading aquatic research institutes. EAWAG’S research group Management of Excreta, Wastewater, and Sludge (MEWS) addresses solutions for city-wide inclusive sanitation through research and development, design and optimization of treatment technologies, development of analytical and monitoring methods, training and reference materials.
The local partner GOAL began working in Sierra Leone in 1999 and implemented in 2021 the first fecal sludge treatment plant (FSTP) in Freetown.
Description
EAWAG has tested and piloted a low-energy, low-footprint technology that could be produced locally. It includes a bio-based binding agent, low-cost sen-sors for its dosage and a manually operated dewatering press. Through the pilot implementation, the project will develop the required knowledge to scale-up this dewatering solution in Sierra Leone.
Results
In 2025, A first prototype of a manual dewatering press was built in Freetown and piloted and a laboratory was set up.
Two people were hired for the pilot operation and the cost-benefit-analysis of the existing fecal sludge treatment plant, and the pilot manual press has been refined. The first community practice meeting for sanitation in Freetown has been organized, which was attended by more than 50 stakeholders from ministries, NGOs, private companies and universities.