How is LooCafe solving the global sanitation crisis.
In 2020, 3.5 billion people—nearly half the world’s population—lacked access to?safely managed sanitation. The effects of this are very serious. It means waste?is being discharged directly into lakes, rivers, and oceans and contaminating water where people drink, bathe, and play. In fact, sewage?contamination causes diarrhea and dehydration resulting in the deaths of over?1000 children a day.
While it is primarily the world’s poorest communities that are most affected by?the lack of safe sanitation, more developed markets are also impacted. Cities?are struggling to keep pace with the pressures that rapid urbanization places on?aging sewage infrastructure, which is more expensive to maintain, and in rural?areas thousands rely on septic tanks with inefficient waste disposal and risk of?leakage. This crisis is likely to accelerate even further with climate change, as?both flooding and droughts become more common.
Every Public toilet dies within 2–3 days
Brick and mortar models cannot survive, with most public toilets built to fill the minimum requirement by the government to end open defecation fail.—the Indian open defecation tag, that has been plaguing our country’s image for years.
[Abhishek: Founder, LooCafe gives an elevator pitch about LooCafe at InkWASH 2020
Abhishek: Founder, LooCafe gives an elevator pitch about LooCafe at InkWASH 2020
Despite the regulatory roadblocks, India presents the potential for hardware design solutions that will launch the next generation of drones, replace plastic, fight climate change, take us to Mars, reduce road congestion, and so on. And this can be done profitably because of solutions designed for scale and low cost, crucial for success in the Indian market.
These are problems that are not just unique to India, and the solutions will be relevant to the developed world. Of the list of recent EV India winners, counterintuitively, the first thing that comes to mind is deploying the smart toilets by?Abishek Nath’s Loo Cafe ?in?San Francisco where the city takes 2 years and spends $1.7 million to build one public toilet !
Innovation is helping to solve the sanitation crisis
Science and engineering have always been instrumental in solving the world’s greatest challenges, and the sanitation crisis is no exception.
Science and engineering are helping to reinvent the toilet, to deliver sanitation to the millions who need it. Imagine the lives that could be saved and how much safer and cleaner our world could be.
What does the LooCafe model look like?
More on LooCafe explored → LooCafe
LooCafe Mini models → LooCafe Minis
Public toilets made inside a shipping container, with a point of sale—retail space attached with advertisement panels on the top.
It’s as simple as that, as a structure.
We’ve also got smaller and bigger ones
LooCafe Mini
Small LooCafes that could be easily installed anywhere, the same power of the LooCafe, but everything a bit smaller.
Socially impactful
The LooCafe “Larger”—At Dog Park, Hyderabad
A large space, a whole restaurant kitchen could fit in here, with 3—you guessed it, bigger washrooms.
Different ideology based toilets too!
The LooCafe Pink
Women empowered! ??♀?
Inside a bus
Mobile. Toilet on wheels.
Ok, this’s not exactly LooCafe, but something we did because it would work out under our area of expertise—TOILETS.
With more open shop floor space!
And a pretty honorable hole inside the toilet—the ruckus of putting something on the street, more about this later.
With Snow-Proofing ??
A larger model’s variation, on the bank of the iconic Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
And so many moreeee which look so much cooler, not that it’s a competition between which innovation team did better.
Because it was done, together.
Meet the LooCafe Innovation Team! ^^
Now, what you dear reader, just scrolled through above was a simpler way of showing you what Loocafes looked like, now onto the more nuanced version of ??———
How does a LooCafe Work?
Quick note: this is how all LooCafes work on baseline, cross-selling and upselling for further sustainability that we found workable not included
The biggest challenge with Clean Tech, or WASH ideas is that the ideas aren’t very sustainable, wheras a LooCafe works just like any other Cafe, say McDonald's, people even go there for their washrooms which are—deemed to be clean.
Burgers make money, toilets get clean. ?? = ?? = ??
Anyone can own a McDonald's, and they get to keep all the burger money to themselves, but how does Ronald McDonald ?? keep his business sustainable? — Rent from the McDonald's’ owners as they own the space and advertisements in their shop and other ways to cross-sell or upsell like mobile apps, payment systems and others.That’s how LooCafes work, too, and that’s one of the few ways a real world toilet can survive. LooCafes are Free2Use, you don’t need to buy a burger to use the clean Loo.
A simpler diagram, dear readers,
With hoardings banned in the city, the form advertisements LooCafe can hold work best
Facility revenue = Water, utilities, electricity, we pay for it in bulk and develop a partnership model, banks can also install an ATM inside a Loocafe so cha-ching to the customers and us. ??
Now you know how the LooCafe model works out, but now for further nuancing if you asked yourself the following questions:
There’s probably more, and I will address them all right here, keep scrolling!
Loocafe Technology
Our objective in creating toilet-tech was making sure toilets remain non-stinky. That was our only objective when we started.
? For instance, people tend to avoid public restrooms because?they may be inaccessible, may be unsanitary, or may raise safety concerns that discourage their use ?[1,2,3,4], and despite having the desire to urinate, many will delay using the restroom when they are away from home - NIMH, Gov of India—[Source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7142493/#:~:text=For instance%2C people tend to,home [2%2C3].)
We wanted to address all these issues when we started with LooCafes, and we had sorted it all with a model that works, we met the 70% goal.
What technology for LooCafe does is add a double safety barrier, a checking parameter to make sure the objectives of creating a LooCafe are handled. Simple as.
Let’s dive into what makes LooCafes smart before addressing further solutions
Connectivity between us and users
Let’s look at this in two parts. Right and left → Mobile and desktop view
—With the LooCafe application, people would be easily able to locate LooCafes near them as we establish a standard that address accessibility, safety, and cleanliness & allied issues.
To make sure the customer’s needs are catered to, LooCafe area managers can track facility maintenance of a LooCafe, its rentals, utilizes and more
Issues in operations
?? Problem: Out of 450 LooCafes, it was noted that every day at least one tap, doorknob, or facility was damaged, and it was reported to us only upon thorough inspection, and replacement took time due to lack of management funds, the shop floor partner wouldn’t be interested to incur the overhead as the responsibility of maintaing a toilet does not interest him as much and the only way it could be solved is an assertive manager from LooCafe.
The concern meant, we were incurring a damage to a minimum of 800 Rupees per day. And this is ignoring the fact sometimes LooCafes before they even had a shop floor owner move in were damaged like this.
It is a challenge curve to find an appropriate partner for a LooCafe, we’re looking for entreprneuers, street vendors who want to reform their lives and that motivation is rare post pandemic—the 2 years when we lost the entire LooCafe project and had to restart.
Strict imposition also cannot be done, because this is new to them, like everyone else, if you’re reading this LooCafe is new to you too, now if I ask you to run it in Sunny Hyderabad with a toilet impostition, you need to be explained.
Prev: Role of LooCafe area managers
LooCafe area managers were responsible for everything to do with making sure a Loocafe is alive.
That’s compressed 10000 problems into 5 heads, there’s more but to experience it in less harsh language is hard.
Game changing technology
A list of LooCafe’s different features
From having WiFi to keep you in our washrooms longer (for whatever reason you want to be there) to making sure water is recycled inside the toilet.
LooCafe’s efforts are coordinated together through a single cloud based application.
LooCafe’s app for Facility Management
Our LooCafe manager can
Now you may go if you’re from the FM industry or just well versed with tech options availaible, oh well Ved, why not just use existing platforms like
facilio or friendly technologies and may be even Glorio !
(Guys in the FM space, get glorio a startup from the fellow Lab32 T-Hub ecosystem!)
And you’d be right
It does not make as much sense to build our own thing, but the nuance of this was, it wasn’t made for toilets that work with government and more, and does not link users to managers.
领英推荐
Facility management on our end sounds good, but how we build a community of washroom users around this and build LooCafe’s OWN ecosystem.
The Facility management platform just works similar to exisitng solutions, only simplified so much more that ex street hawkers could understand it.
?? We’re rolling out the beta version and 40% of our testers said it was a complex Whatsapp system. Which is great, because they were able to make comparisions to the simple whatsapp, give us 6 months and we’re making sure there’s 0% urine dried up on the toilet floor - haha (with accuracy)
And the best part is, we won’t limit ourselves to Public Washrooms ??
LooCafe’s App for Users
The simple locator system for toilets - not just limited to LooCafes is what the app promises according to this mockup- I was only able to share a limited number as per our legal team :(
Users would be able to review LooCafes - giving us data that is worth so much more than Google Maps functionality - we’re also cross linking so anything there comes on here
If we digitize, we have the potential to grow larger than D-Mart in the country. Quick delivery systems such as Zepto , Big Basket and SwiggyMart that use Dark Houses can be solved through LooCafes.
We’d be adding so much data into the system and creating an opportunity with our space in a fashion that is higher in volume than general and kirana stores. LooCafe won’t be limited to passersby then
?? LooCafes are valued more than 7/11s and quick grocery stores in country, they’re more accessible and larger in number. Making sure communities know that, and digitizing it in the first place helps us connect future opportuities better, such as supply chain regulation for stores, food/grocery delivery, community network updates
A LooCafe that just locates LooCafes would be useless, and that’s not what we want us to be limited to, Google Maps exists and SaaS platforms can link the gap easily, and we’re capitalizing on that opportunity.
?? LooCafe’s app would be the first Washroom management system for users, and a locator system where the app creators actually manage and create toilets.
LooCafe’s app for cleaners/maintaners for toilets
Rerouting back to our mission of solving sanitation focused challenges
It’s a to-do list. Imagine the time LooCafe area managers would save through a functionality like this, we’ve implemented it in the beta versions and the results are super promising, we’ve saved 3 hours of time in a day for area managers already.
Task management for complex FM industries works, but a LooCafe 3KM apart from each other and since we don’t have the best of volume yet, sometimes 40km apart, it’s challenging.
We’ve got 3 isolated Loocafes in Sangareddy distrcit, 150Km from Hyderabad. We inspect them once a month, and that’s not enough. Whatsapp texts from them wouldn’t cut it.
Through the app, whether your loocafe runs a puncture business, you’re making sure toilets aren’t forgotten.
Or a person selling shawarmas about your water tank needing a advertisement.
Summarizing who uses it!
???Yup, the government is in on this too, they use it to track data and make sure washrooms are on the top, sounds familiar? Remember when we said this has national use cases, that’s what this is.
Addressing the other issues now:
Technology seems like the best way to go forward, LooCafe’s pivot post years of installing toilets looks like shifting towards the tech angle even further, as of January 2023, beta rollouts have started and progress made is immense.
Now an incentive based announcement for you for reading so much
We’re making cryptooo ????
Hahaha, sounds pretty overhyped already, fun side note, I wrote a research paper on Instituionalized HoDling of Crypto SafeBlock HQ
Enter LooCafe Token Currency
In efforts to make our ecosystem more lively and incentivized like a well oiled machine, we plan to reward people with cryptocurrency built on Ethereum.
A simple non regulated system that would reflect how our network is working, easily convertible into INR.
Looking at the future prospects for cryptocurrency worldwide with WEB3, we found this as one of the best ways to link our physical assets and work to the internet in a popular fashion.
TV Show culture reference: We might even do an ICO like Pied Piper from HBO’s Silicon Valley : p
We come up with the idea of incetivizing users to use washrooms from Inarah, LooCafe’s affiliated project to convert feaces to charcol Inarah
Wrapping up LooCafe’s technology updates for now! I’ll keep this page posted as we make progress on our beta stages!!
What happens to the waste after the Loo is used?
Above I’d asked this really detailed question and it’s what I want to answer, not limited to feacal matter and urine
How LooCafes are installed
Quick Summary (Without Liasoning with people/officials)
LooCafes are prefabricated, that means pre made, all it requires is installation.
Think IKEA Furniture, Lego or whatever.
LooCafe was inspired by the Swiss Knife model - lot of utilities compressed inside one thing
??So is there like a tank for the waste storage?
Yes and No. Waste is one of the trickiest components the LooCafe Innovation team has dealt with. There’s a load of problems in managing substances everyone hates and has stigmas about, so another burden on shop managers semt out of the question. Enter, the Innovation team, to innovate. **
We’ve experimented with over 30+ solutions so far, here are a couple of which I worked with:
BioDigesters
Biodigesters essentially take layers of waste and composte them, they’re to be installed inside the ground connected through a pipe to the toilet, the point of biodigesters is natural fermentation and decay with worms releasing gas externally from elsewhere, making readymade composte.
Most LooCafes use this, 2nd to sewage systems.
Converting Feaces to Charcol and Urine to Ammonium sulphate
The Open defecation project, all notes and project details Inarah
Burn the poop through a kiln to get charcoal
and urine through lab conversion of Nitrogen and Phosphorous to get usable material that may be worth as fertilizers (natural urea makes one of the most expensive open market fertilizers)
Piloted in very few LooCafes, but one one of the most interesting projects I’ve worked on
Sewage Systems
LooCafe’s main innovation has always been its design and structure that is sustainable, and since we started we made use of the existing sewage system.
In India, most roads are very well connected with sewage pipelines and systems because of the density of the area’s population and we were able to easily connect a BoT model into.
Using the G2RT
One of my favourite solutions to end the challenge of urban WASH problems, the G2RT, the golden chalice of toilets (How I became the first person to use the G2RT - the Golden Chalice for Toilets )
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation came up with a device so futuristic that it converts poop into ash and urine into water, instantly, although expensive, some of the best minds in the world are working on it and are making it market ready really soon. LooCafe’s a key partner in executing G2RTs in India and we can’t wait to get started with them.
2023 end or 2024, a G2RT would be in the first ever public toilet model in a LooCafe.
Water Loop Systems
Through our associations with various global organizations such as the British Council , King's College London , Jane Withers & Global Design Studios we made a system to make sure water is recycled inside a LooCafe, urine and waste equally handled
Search - LooCafe Water Loop
As I started this document with - “ Sewer systems will fail”, LooCafes could easily outlast sewage lines, and the load on them is failing worldwide before India.
That’s why beta testing and experimenting with projects that deal with human waste is important, we can’t just have it lying around obviously and making sure its nuances are well managed is essential.
And that’s why one of the main focuses of my conversations with officials and experts in WASH since Toilet Tales by LooCafe has been how to manage waste, it’s next billion dollar question.
Question wrap up
Are the toilets clean? -
Yes, yes they are!
How do you maintain water and electricity bills as this is not connected and fixed?
Our area managers do a lot of liasoning with officials to make utilities connected to the Cafe, we’ve got on ground technicians that make this happen.
Take a look at this picture, see the water tanks on top? that also makes space for adequate storage facilitation, and also helps the LooCafe area void of any wires or pipes, it’s all clean on the outside. We’re also able to ground the wires and get electricity supplied through accordingly. Think Footpath lighting - we’re part of that - and yes of course, our billing is serperate.
How much does LooCafes cost in manufacturing?
Great quality of toilets The iphone for public toilets i.e LooCafe is at its minimum calculated number ranging between 3 lakh INR to 20 lakh INR, it varies due to the variety of designs involved.
We incur all manufacturing costs ourselves and handle all LooCafes, currently we haven’t sold our LooCafes away, but we’re open for franchise and partnership models such as our work in Chennai with Thooya Innovation -
What about sprinklers, sanitary pad dispensers, vending machines, vertical gardens and others?
We’ve got all of it connected to various LooCafes (not all!)
Watch out for this space as it keeps getting updated.
Thank you for sticking with me through this longgg document.
We’ve got more pages that you can explore, hopefully this was insightful into about LooCafes and we’re rooting for you to support us, it’s really hard innovating for the public as this can go really wrong as well - haha.
Anyways,
Best of luck
Made by Team?Loocafe?Tech
Under the guidance of
Mr. Vedanth Nath (Head of Innovation, Technology and Marketing at LooCafe)
Get in touch with me for more questions that I should update onto this document!
+91 9966906781