A Safe Water Garden (SWG) is a scalable sewage treatment system developed from an original UNICEF concept. It suits individual households, as well as small community centres like rural schools. A highly dedicated team devotes its time to build up a network of Safe Water Gardens in Indonesia. We have the vision to scale it up to build 100 Million of these gardens across developing rural tropical Asia and beyond.

1. Safe Sanitation for All
Scaling-up a wastewater treatment solution for households in
rural areas
29 March 2019

2. 2
Tropical Asia –viewed through tourists' eyes

3. 3
Sanitation
Reality
seen
through
locals’
eyes

4. The issue
4
• 949 million people in rural areas practice open defecation1
• Effective toilet sewage treatment systems are typically
absent in rural areas
• Household wastewater is mostly discharged untreated in the
environment, causing severe pollution
• Profound suppression of self-esteem
• Economic impact of inadequate sanitation is
substantial. In Indonesia, it is estimated at
US$6.3bn or >2.4% of GDP
• Global environment impact as a result of nutrient
release into oceans
• 2 of the 4 main causes of death for children <5 years are
faecal-borne illnesses: diarrhoea & typhoid
• Almost 1 million children die every year from diarrhoea alone;
370 children every day in Indonesia
• 25% of children worldwide <5yrs suffer stunted growth, 37%
in Indonesia
Consequences
Source: (1) World Health Organisation

5. Why we care
5
• Two teachers –Marc van Loo and Isabelle Lacoste–
fell in love with Indonesia and created LooLa
Adventure Resort, in the year 2000.
• Self-funded, LooLa (in Bintan, Indonesia) is fully run
by local village people, who turned LooLa into the
world’s most highly awarded eco resort.
• LooLa educates and entertains its guests through
adventure, ecology and community programs.
• 300 sanitation systems were built (with many more on
the way!) & world-class scientists and passionate
individuals started adding their expertise.
• Governments and MNCs joined in with funding.
• So this is us now: a big and growing energetic group of
people united by a common aim: a safe sanitation
system for every home.
• In 2014, LooLa’s cook daughter died. The reason:
inadequate sanitation at his home.
• This tragic event propelled us into action: LooLa’s
school guests started building sanitation systems, and
company and family guests joined in!
A call to action

6. The Safe Water Garden
6
A Safe Water Garden (SWG) is a scalable sewage treatment system developed from an original UNICEF
concept. It suits individual households, as well as small community centers like rural schools.
Main components per SWG:
① Closed septic tank connected to the toilet
② Leach field (garden)
③ System of pipes connecting the parts
③ A separate kitchen sink (see photo on next slide) – because kitchen wastewater should not be released into the septic tank!
2
1
3
4

7. 7
Changing lives

8. 8
Built on well-established science promoted by UNICEF, the Safe Water Garden’s design and social
engagement model is the result of a 2-year research programme carried out collaboratively by the following
partners, and funded by a research grant from the Dutch government (Nuffic).
The research covered : – Water quality, soil fertility, biological and botanical performance
– Design alternatives, cost optimisation
– Social engagement and user behaviour & satisfaction
A System Validated by Research
Ranked third among all European research
universities. TU/e received a research grant from
the Dutch government to support our project
Indonesia’s oldest and largest institution of higher
education, comprising 18 faculties, 27 research
centers, 55,000 students and 2,500 faculty members
Leading University in Singapore, its
Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
conducts R&D on (waste)water infrastructure
needs in Singapore and the region

9. Key Benefits of Safe Water Gardens
9
Prevents diseases that originate from polluted surface water
• Direct prevention: children are no longer in contact with polluted surface water
• Indirect prevention: fewer flies and rodents carry diseases near households
Social status improvement
• The houses no longer smell, have fewer insect and they feature a beautiful garden
Improves life quality
• When used properly, the system is entirely maintenance free
• Children can play safely in the garden
• Enhances spiritual well-being since a clean environment speaks to religious beliefs
Contributes to food production and generates revenue
• Year-round growth of crop or spices in the gardens, which can be sold or consumed
• Fewer sick days, leading to lower medical bills and increased number of working days
• 10-15% household annual income saved through the above
Positive impact on the environment
• Nutrients no longer pollute rivers and sea: SWGs remove source of feed for algae, which contributes to killing marine life
Highly affordable and promotes local ownership
• The material (retail) cost are typically under USD 350, with further savings possible if construction takes place at scale
• These costs are similar to or less than those of the traditional systems, and local people can assume full ownership
• The SWG is very easy and fast to build and requires no special construction skills (see next slide).

10. 10
Building it is easy
Starting with discussions with local home owners, even school children can build a SWG!

11. Vision and mission
A sanitation system for every home
Together, we want to build 100 million Safe Water Gardens by 2030
to protect people and the environment
We do this through…
11
Research & Development:
Building local capacity:
Developing partnerships:
Digitalization:
Through (cost)optimizing an original open source UNICEF system, we
ensure.system performance and affordability.
We enable people, communities and partners to build SWGs.
We help partners deliver turnkey SWGs in every country.
We connect people to learn how to adapt SWGs to local needs and
conditions, and to share experiences.

12. Vision Timeline
12
2018 Jun2019 Dec2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5
USD 350k USD 165k USD 1.5m USD 300k USD 900k (expected to be self-sufficient)
Build
300 SWG
Complete
Research
Project
Incorporate
SWG Ltd.
Design & Test
Construction
Manual
SWG recognized
National Standard
Indonesia
Bintan Bintan
Scale-Up Trial
Entire Village
200 SWG
2 MNC 25 SWG Trial
1 Scale-Up (P3.1)
5-10 Villages
1,000 – 2,000 SWG
Indonesia & beyond
Reporting and
Geo-Mapping
2 Scale-Up (P3.2)
2 MNC 1,000 SWG
Reach out to
20 new MNCs
500 SWG Trial
International advocacy and partnership
outreach
3 Scale-Up (P4.1)
100 Villages
20,000 SWG
Indonesia & beyond
4 Scale-Up (P4.2)
2 MNC all staff
200,000 SWG
intensify
International
advocacy and
partnership
outreach
Worldwide
Global
Cooperation
with other NGOs
SWGs are a well
established standard
Across Indonesia
28m rural households
28m SWG
300 SWG 225 SWG 3,5k SWG 220k SWG 1m SWG 30m SWG 50m+ SWG
SEA/ASEAN
80% of 660m live in rural areas
keyinitiatives
Quality Control
throughout all
phases,
assured through
Scientific
monitoringCompleted

13. Development
bank
(local)
government
or a head of
village
Benefits from SWGs for:
13
• Addresses a basic need of the
community
• Cost-effective solution for wastewater
treatment infrastructure in rural areas
• Creates local jobs
• Co-benefits e.g. less plastic pollution,
increased appreciation for
environmental issues
• Fits perfectly with the 3 national
priorities: food security, housing,
sanitation
• Opportunity for large-scale sanitation
infrastructure investments in rural
areas
Corporate
sector
• On-the-ground scalable infrastructure
project, within company operation
area – and for neighbouring
communities
• SWGs help fulfil WASH pledge
• Enables healthier and more
productive employees, reduces health
care costs
• Improves licence to operate with local
community

14. NGO Philanthropist
Benefits from SWGs for:
14
• Real on-the-ground purpose-driven
projects
• Scalable and replicable
• Profound impact and reach: one
project will inspire calls and pressure
for further projects, which can be built
by and funded by the relevant
communities themselves (on account
of the SWG’s low cost and ease of
construction)
• Opportunity to replicate a proven
system and train local people
• Relatively low requirement of
knowhow; the NGO can fully leverage
on its local knowledge
• System scales easily: homes,
schools, whole villages
Donor
• Can see concrete outcome of
donation, e.g., “sponsor a family”
• An opportunity to engage and
participate: one donor family could
help build a SWG in just one day

15. Board
15
Constant VAN AERSCHOT Tim-Frederik KOHLERDr. Marc VAN LOO
Frequent Traveller & Global CSO. Connecting different
worlds.
Tim has comprehensive global background in business
administration, sales, marketing and business
development. He is building high-performing regional
and cross-functional teams. Driving and leading change
is his passion.
Civil engineer with 30 years of experience in consulting and
industry. In Southeast Asia since 2012.
Designer and on-site supervision of construction projects,
government relations, head of business association focused
on sustainability, corporate strategy, sales & marketing.
Master degree from ETH Zürich (CH) & Cranfield School of
Management, UK
Dutch by birth, cosmologist by training, educator and
international educational author by profession, Marc opened
LooLa Adventure Resort in 2000 – which went on to become
the world’s most highly decorated eco resort. Spurred on by
the preventable death of the
daughter of Loola’s cook, LooLa’s team – together with
LooLa’s guests – has built (and continues to build) 300
SWGs in Bintan since 2014 for households and schools.
These SWGs formed the main base of our research.
Prof. Dr. How Yong NGMike FLACHE
Mike Flache is a globally active entrepreneur, angel investor,
keynote speaker, and advisor to Fortune 500 companies. He
is helping build high-tech startups in Silicon Valley, Europe
and Asia. As a recognized thought leader, he collaborates
with some of the world’s most renowned organizations. The
analysts of Onalytica named him as one of the top-10 global
influencers in the field of digital transformation.
How Yong has over 20 years of experience in wastewater
treatment. He is: Professor and a Provost’s Chair in NUS’s
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Director
of the NUS Environmental Research Institute; Director of the
Sembcorp-NUS Corporate Laboratory; Fellow of the
International Water Association (IWA), Vice-Chair of the
Management Committee of the IWA Specialist Group on
Membrane Technology; and President of the Environmental
Engineering Society of Singapore.

16. Our Services
16
TRAINING AND CAPACITY
BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION EXPERTISE,
TECHNICAL SUPPORT &
QUALITY CONTROL
TURNKEY
CONSTRUCTIONS
DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT
AND/OR SUPPORT SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS
CONSULTING FOR
TAILORED DEPLOYMENT
STANDARDS AND
REGULATORY WORK
PROVIDE A DIGITAL
CENTRAL PLATFORM FOR
ADVOCACY AND SHARING
RESEARCH &
DEVELOPMENT
Our Services
16
TRAINING AND CAPACITY
BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION EXPERTISE,
TECHNICAL SUPPORT &
QUALITY CONTROL
TURNKEY
CONSTRUCTIONS
DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT
AND/OR SUPPORT SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS
CONSULTING FOR
TAILORED DEPLOYMENT
STANDARDS AND
REGULATORY WORK
PROVIDE A DIGITAL
CENTRAL PLATFORM FOR
ADVOCACY AND SHARING
RESEARCH &
DEVELOPMENT

17. Partners
17
R&D partnersMNC Supporters Deployment Early supporters

18. 18
Towards life-supporting gardens …

19. 19
Early supporters

20. 20
#ChangingLives

21. 21

22. 22
Proud new owners of
a newly installed
Safe Water Garden

23. 23
A happy SWG owner, Ibu Iswinarti,
dresses up to pose.
Courtesy: Musim Mas, whose
donation changed her life
Be part of it
Safe Water Gardens Ltd.
4 Battery Road #25-01
Bank of China Building
Singapore 049908
www.safewatergardens.org
info@safewatergardens.org