Global Sanitation Solutions: How SATO & LIXIL Are Changing Lives (#120)

How can affordable sanitation solutions, water-saving toilets, and innovative toilet technology improve public health for millions of people? They improve public health by making safe, hygienic, low-water sanitation accessible in communities where traditional toilets are impractical, unaffordable, or unavailable.

On the ZuLoo Poodcast, Prashant Bhatia of SATO, part of LIXIL, explains how innovative sanitation solutions are helping communities across the globe gain access to affordable toilets, better hygiene, clean water, and healthier living.

SATO has already helped improve sanitation for more than 100 million people by developing affordable, water-saving toilet systems that are easy to transport, simple to install, durable, and designed for communities facing water scarcity, limited infrastructure, and sanitation challenges. From rural villages and disaster relief to some of the world's largest public gatherings, Prashant shares how simple innovations are creating lasting global impact.

Whether you're passionate about global sanitation, clean water, public health, sustainable development, toilet innovation, water conservation, international development, or social entrepreneurship, this episode demonstrates how thoughtful engineering and collaboration can improve dignity, health, and quality of life for millions around the world.

What You'll Learn

✅ How SATO and LIXIL are providing affordable sanitation solutions to communities lacking clean, safe toilets.

✅ Why water-saving toilet technology is helping solve global sanitation challenges while improving hygiene and public health.

✅ How innovative sanitation products are making toilets easier to transport, install, and maintain in rural communities and disaster response.

✅ Why partnerships, education, and innovation are critical to achieving global sanitation and clean water goals.

Support ZuLoo Humanitarian

Help provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions to communities around the world. https://zuloo.org

Timestamps

(00:00) Why Sanitation Matters From the Moment We're Born

(05:14) Meet Prashant Bhatia and the Mission of SATO

(08:05) Leaving Luxury Building Materials to Improve Global Sanitation

(13:38) Inside the World Toilet Summit and Global Sanitation Innovation

(21:06) How SATO's Water-Saving Toilet Technology Works

(24:19) The SATO Tap and Other Innovative Sanitation Products

(27:54) The Biggest Challenges in Changing Sanitation Habits

(32:16) Supporting One of the World's Largest Public Gatherings

(34:20) Where Does the Waste Go? Understanding Sanitation Systems

(37:22) Why Affordable Sanitation Changes Lives

Key Takeaways

🔹 Affordable sanitation solutions improve public health, dignity, and quality of life while reducing water consumption.

🔹 Innovative toilet technology makes sanitation more accessible in rural communities, disaster zones, and regions with limited infrastructure.

🔹 Education, demonstration, and community trust are essential for adopting new sanitation technologies.

🔹 Partnerships between nonprofits, governments, and private companies can dramatically expand access to safe sanitation worldwide.

About Prashant Bhatia

Prashant Bhatia is a sanitation leader with SATO, part of LIXIL, one of the world's largest manufacturers of sanitation and housing products. After more than two decades in the building materials industry, Prashant transitioned into global sanitation with a mission to improve lives through innovative, affordable, and water-efficient toilet solutions.

Working across India and internationally, he helps expand access to safe sanitation by promoting products that conserve water, reduce odors, simplify installation, and improve hygiene for underserved communities. Through SATO's mission-driven approach, Prashant is helping advance global efforts toward better sanitation, healthier communities, and sustainable development.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prashbhatia/?locale=sv

Website: https://sato.lixil.com/ 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

When when you are born in this world, the first thing what you do is pee and boom. And that is the and that is where the world goes around. If that is true, that is very, very Yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

And then that's all you do for the first two years. That's what it seems like.

SPEAKER_04 0:16

Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Welcome to the Zulu Podcast, where we talk all things poop, toilets, and sanitation. Through insightful news, impact stories, and quirky humor, we aim to discuss and highlight the critical role toilets play in flushing poop out of our lives, the impact toilets have, or lack thereof, on the health and wellness of humanity, and what Zulu is doing to help solve the current global sanitation crisis.

SPEAKER_03 0:51

This episode of the Zulu Podcast is sponsored by Zulu Humanitarian, a nonprofit organization committed to delivering sustainable sanitation, clean water, and hygiene solutions to underserved communities around the globe. Head to Zulu.org to learn more. Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Zulu Podcast. You may notice that Darren is the sunniest of all men.

SPEAKER_04 1:17

I don't know if I match this. I don't know if I'm mapping the color, though.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

You and the lemons. I'm feeling very dark. Well, I guess I kind of match the chair and the plants.

SPEAKER_04 1:24

So you just said all you need is your face. You don't need anything else. Floating there.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

All right. Well, um before we dive into global sanitation and water crisis topics, I think you're going through one of your own.

SPEAKER_04 1:38

Aaron Powell Yeah. In Puerto Rico, uh they've got a little water crisis going on right now. You probably see it in the news. I don't know. But uh or maybe maybe you don't follow Puerto Rico news. A lot of people don't. They're like, where's Puerto Rico?

unknown 1:48

Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

I gave up on news a long time ago, so I have to rely on you.

SPEAKER_04 1:51

Trevor Burrus, Jr. But uh yeah, so the currently uh and that's why I'm actually in Utah. We thought, oh, well, we might might as well stay here until this little water crisis. Uh we don't we don't know the exact reason, but all the uh um like the water authorities having trouble delivering water to the buildings. I think they think it's like some major infrastructure issues. And that's what they're saying. They're saying where there's some major mechan uh uh breakdown in the infrastructure. And so yeah, big sections of San Juan don't have water. And uh like our building has like a cistern meant for like emergencies. It'll last like a day or two, but it's kind of been going on for I think a week or two. I've just been kind of following the emails because I get they'll go they'll give an update and say, hey, we're gonna do water rationing like 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night, you know, which you know for a couple thousand people in our building, it's like, I don't know, that's not a viable solution, right? So uh anyway, hopefully it gets figured out soon. Um uh I'd say if you're gonna g go on vacation to Puerto Rico, maybe maybe double check uh the area. It's not all of Puerto Rico or all of San Juan, but certain large like East LaVarde where we live and big sections of Wyanabo and you know, big urban areas are just without water. So let's uh let's hope we get it figured out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:16

So we'll take you as long as you want to stay here in Utah, but hopefully they get that resolved quickly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:22

I can only quickly uh yeah, you kind of forget, uh, especially when it comes to toilets, when it comes to big I mean, man, without water, it's a big trouble. And you know, you can o the ocean's right there, but you know, that's the irony. Yeah, that's the irony, right? You can't.

SPEAKER_03 3:37

I mean, you can always take a salty bath.

SPEAKER_04 3:38

Aaron Powell You can take a salty bath, right? It's a little sticky, but you know. Anyway, but that's going on right now. Again, hopefully that uh gets resolved.

SPEAKER_03 3:45

But yeah. All right. Well today's interview was with Prashant Bhatia of Sato. And you did you meet Prashant at a one of the summits?

SPEAKER_04 3:55

Aaron Powell Yeah, we met him at the World Toilet Summit in India last year, and uh super great guy. Uh we uh we're glad to have him on the show. Uh we interviewed him for a few minutes, uh one of the past episodes. You'll uh get a hot mic take with him. But uh yeah, it works for Sato, which is a division of Lixel, which is uh Japanese uh toilet.

SPEAKER_03 4:15

Lixel rhymes with Pixel.

SPEAKER_04 4:17

Right, right, with an X, right? Um But yeah, they uh they recently had some great news. They they've uh they had some announcement uh recently. They uh they've been able to serve over 103 million uh customers. Uh that's amazing. So they hit that milestone just recently. And so uh yeah, Prashant's awesome. We he only talked about, you know, in the interview that you'll see. Uh he'll he uh talked about some of the innovations they're bringing to the table and really making a big impact, you know. So awesome.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

Well, let's dive in. Okay, we are so excited to be speaking with Prashant Battiya, who is part of Sato, which is part of Wixel. And we're gonna get it into uh both of the both of those organizations and what they do. Prashant, thank you so much for being here with us today. From where in the world are you joining us?

SPEAKER_05 5:10

Yeah, I am joining from Gurgaon, near the capital city of India, New Delhi. Which is like I think thousand more than thousand kilometers from wherever you are.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Yeah, it's a good guess. Darren and I are in different places, but a thousand kilometers sounds great.

SPEAKER_04 5:26

Yes, yes, yeah, and it's uh yeah, late uh evening for you, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's it's like late night for me.

SPEAKER_04 5:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:33

Yes, very excited to be part of Zulu and got an opportunity to meet uh Zulu people at the World Toilet Summit. And uh that is what what we do, make toilets. So Lixil, our parent organization, uh we are into basically it's a Japanese company which is into uh sanitation, uh homes, tiles, and uh uh where we are concentrating, we are concentrating on sanitation. So Lixil has got uh uh great brand names called Grohe and American Standard, which are doing wonders all over the world.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

And uh American Standard, I think that's one that most people in the States would be very familiar with.

SPEAKER_05 6:13

Right, right, right, right. Yeah, it's a great name, you know. Yeah, yeah. So so so Lixil is a parent organization of American Standard Groha, and uh uh SATO is part of Lixil basically, and why SATA is there? Because SATO is there to make uh uh life easy for people uh all around the world by giving them affordable and innovative sanitation solutions. Basically, uh SATO's objective is wherever people don't have the basic uh sanitation facilities, wherever uh the water is not accessible, wherever uh the cost is an issue, SATO is there. So SATO, uh what SATO does is it makes a value proposition of providing uh uh toilets which have uh less smelly, uh use less of water, and they are easy to transport and easy to operate and uh basically to install. So that is the point, and we are around in 46 countries, SATO, and uh we are impacted around uh more than 80 million people uh around in the past few years, and looking forward for impacting more lives.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Well, Prashant, it it was really fun to hop on the website last night. This is the Sato website, and look at you have a wide range of really great products um designed for exactly what you said, places that don't necessarily have access to sanitation. And I I want to hear more about that, but I would also love to hear a little bit more about you and your background and how you ended up in the sanitation space. Tell us a little bit more about yourself.

SPEAKER_05 8:01

Yeah, yeah, very interesting, obviously. Yes, it's uh it's it's got a beautiful story, as such. Uh, I'll tell you in brief, as such, that um uh I have been in this uh building material industry for the past two decades, and uh uh I have been selling luxury products all the way from uh uh wooden flooring, from HPL cladding, from uh vanilla floor, which are very expensive, all luxury stuff. And uh now after two decades, I wanted to give back to my society, wanted to save some water and wanted to make some impact. And because of that, uh I got this opportunity in the sanitation industry, and this is my uh first time in sanitation industry, and I am really enjoying because uh when you start, when you when you when you when you are born in this world, the first thing what you do is pee and boom, and that is the and that is where the world goes around. If that is true, that is very, very yes, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

And then that's all you do for the first two years, that's what it seems like. Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:10

I had the uh I had the opportunity, I met my my grand, I have a new grandson a couple weeks uh born a few weeks ago, and I got to meet him for the first time a few days ago, and I walk in the room and guess what's going on? Big old poopy diaper, you know, and I'm like, this is perfect, you know. This is like I could I couldn't have I couldn't ask for a better introduction, you know, because you know, like give me that diaper, give me that. So um you're totally correct. That is uh, yeah, we never stop doing that. Hopefully, hopefully not. I guess if you do, you're you're you're dead, right? Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_05 9:47

That's the thing, that's the thing. And and and my my wife also told me, and my daughter also told me that most of the times you are in the loo. Most of the times uh you spend more time in the loo, and in the loo, your brains work. Uh it works, it gives you ideas. So that's why I'm there. And they say, now you're you your profession, your chosen, you are again in the loo. So you're providing new solutions. So so so yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:14

Yeah, you're you're you're you're uh you're spending more time with toilets than most people, but uh yes, yes, yeah, it is a significant part of your time. I think uh what is Jack Sem says it your your toilet is the most intimate partner in your life, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Yeah, it sees parts of you, no one else does. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_05 10:35

Yeah. Where you can be yourself, basically, and uh and and and it gives you uh basically uh a new meaning whenever you are out of that loop, that what you have to do. So, so so uh that's the interesting part uh overall uh for the toilet because as he pointed out, that uh if you're not doing, you're gone. So it's like that ECG machine when it's going up and down, up and down, up and down, you're alive, and when it goes back, you're gone. So toilets are like that. So you need toilets everywhere, and you have to have clean toilets so that it's maintained, hygienic, and you don't catch any disease, and you give a healthy life to your future. So that's where I'm here. Sanitation, I'm enjoying every bit of it here, and uh, I'm visiting uh rural uh areas, I'm visiting the places which I had not seen before in my life. I had just read in the books, and because of SATO, I'm able to see the true uh condition, true India, and and I'm enjoying every bit of it so that because I'm able to impact, I can I'm able to uh convince people that this is the way uh life for your future, for your children ahead, and uh we save water, we save lives. That's it.

SPEAKER_03 12:02

Hey friends, it's Jocelyn with Zulu. I want to share something that's really stuck with me after doing this podcast for the past few years. I feel like I've lived these stories. Listening to what so many women and families go through every single day. As a mom with two young daughters, it hits me on a completely different level. Imagine having to wake up before dawn and risk assault just to find a private place to go to the bathroom. For 673 million people, that's not hypothetical. That's daily life. And for so many girls, the lack of a safe, clean toilet means they drop out of school once they reach puberty. Just trying to manage something as basic as hygiene ends up costing them their education and their future. That's why Zulu Humanitarian is doing this work. Building safe, sustainable toilets and clean water solutions for families who need them most. It's not just about sanitation, it's about dignity, safety, and giving girls a real chance. And here's the part that gets me. You can change that for a family. Just $350. That's less than a dollar a day. You can fund a toilet for up to seven people. If this speaks to you at all, please go to Zulu, spelled Z-U-L-O-O.org slash give. That's Z-U-L-O-O.org slash give. It really does make a difference.

SPEAKER_04 13:34

Yeah, I remember when when we met at the World Toilet Summit back in November last year. Um yeah, I was uh I really loved you guys. You guys had just a such a great uh a great uh presentation booth of all the various technologies that you bring to play. And uh yeah, you did a great job. Um Thank you so much. Yeah, how was the summit for you? Uh if if I if I don't mind me asking, what uh how did the summit go? Was that your first toilet summit, or were you had you been before?

SPEAKER_05 14:05

Yeah, as such, like uh uh in India, this was the first time as uh what Sato got an opportunity. As such, Sato worldwide participated in many exhibitions, hidex, cv, and many more. Uh and uh out here, the thing was that uh what was the best part was that because it was co-organized by Sulam, and Sulam is also our partner uh with uh Lixil Sato. So uh we were able to meet many of the Sulab customers under one roof because uh India is vast, is uh is a country of countries, and uh every uh state has got its own uh charms and own issues. So out there for those three days, like one day was a conference, and the two days was the event, we were able to interact with a lot of people, and we got a lot of feedback, and we were able to give many demonstrations out there. Uh interesting, uh, like people from Bhutan uh toilet organization, they were also there, and uh they have been using SATO uh since many years, and and they told that even because uh Sato is made of polypropylene, which is a verging rate of plastic.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

So uh wait, I'm sorry, can you say that that one more time?

SPEAKER_05 15:23

Sato is what Sato products are made of polypropylene, polypropylene, sweeping material. Okay, yeah, it's a it's a virgin rate of plastic. Okay, so what happens is that what uh I'm giving you an example of Bhutan. Bhutan, the temperature goes to minus 10, minus 15 degrees. So if you have got a ceramic pan, it will expand and it will break, it will crack. So we had a live example of the persons using in Bhutan, and they were explaining themselves, they were a testimony in themselves by telling that minus 10, minus 15, nothing happens to this SATO pants, nothing happens out there. And he told this interesting thing that in the morning, when you're going to pee, the snow is there, but with the warmth of your pea, it melts, and satotolis is functioning. So, so interesting facts and uh experiences to learn out there. So, we really enjoyed at World Toy Summit as much as you you did. Yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

I I'm the more we talk to people who were there, the more FOMO I have. I I was busy getting married. Next time I won't do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 16:36

Next time I think it's in South Africa, it's in South Africa because a minister from South Africa was also there. So, so so uh a lot of government representation was there and uh a lot of interactions, and and and it felt that uh I was in the right toilet world, actually. Because in course you're among friends, yeah. Yes, yes. I I felt very comfortable. I felt at my second home. So it was really nice because some familiar people also, they also came from far from places in India, and they were happy to see me out there, and we were also happy to see them there with our products. And when you are there in uh World Toilet Summit with all your products, everything is there with your team members, everyone talking about toilets, it's a different high. It's a different high. Means you really uh enjoy talking about their feedback and experiences, and then you take back uh good memories and good leads, and we are following with good leads and we are we are meeting them and we are uh trying to get more business.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Was there something you heard or something you were introduced to at the summit that really surprised you or excited you?

SPEAKER_05 17:47

Yeah, there were many things, but uh one of the things which I really liked was that uh uh Uber, Uber had done a uh tie-up with uh Sulub where they were they're providing free uh uh sanitation facility to the drivers, and they are providing sanitation facility to the female drivers also, like sanitary pads and other things and all. So that was a really a revolutionary uh I think uh uh unison between uh Sulub and Uber because Uber is the leading uh app for cab service in India. They've got others also, but I think now with Uber doing that, others will also follow uh the same route. So that was a really uh impactful uh uh signing off of the agreement.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

So yeah, it's nice to see it's nice to see that a non, I mean, I think, oh, what does Uber have to do with toilets? I mean, you know, it's nice to see like a non-sanitation related company come in and say, hey, this is this is super important, super important and and spot and be a major sponsor uh at the event. And um they uh yeah, they obviously made uh and through through the partnership with Sulab, made uh toilets, uh Suleub toilets available for free without cost to uh all any Uber driver. I think is it all just in New Delhi or was it in all of India? No, it's all over India.

SPEAKER_05 19:14

They're they're stalling in two cities, but they will go to all over India.

SPEAKER_04 19:17

Yeah, they made, you know, so typically there's a small fee, a small cost associated with uh using a Sulab toilet. But they said, hey, for if you're an Uber driver, because you know, you think about it, that they they they're in the car all day long, gotta go, and so they're like, you know, uh back to back, they they've gotta find some place to go. And obviously that's time and money, and but yet let's see Uber uh step up, it was super great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Well, I think it's important for anyone listening who, you know, that you hear about the global sanitation crisis and you think, what difference could I possibly make? You know, like Uber seemingly has nothing to do with sanitation, and yet everything has to do with sanitation. If you have people working for you, this is a uh a necessary thing that is going to happen for your employees. So it's really wonderful to hear about these creative collaborations. Um, and that's one reason why we do this podcast is to highlight these really cool partnerships and the difference that people can make, even though it seems like this is too big of a problem, I don't know what I'm doing, I wouldn't know the first thing. There are many, many ways to help make this not a crisis, but you know, move it towards solutions. And it sounds like, you know, that has been Sato's mission from the beginning. Can you help us understand a little bit more? You know, I was on the website last night looking at the product line. It's very big. It's not just toilets. You guys are helping to, you know, contribute sanitation solutions in a lot of different ways. Um, can you give us some other examples of um products that Sato is providing for people?

SPEAKER_05 21:01

Right. Basically, uh SATO's motto is basically uh to give a better life every day to people all around. And Lixil's uh motto is to make uh better homes a reality uh for everyone uh everywhere. So uh these two uh principles on which SATA is working. So even Lixil is also working on the same principle. So what we do is we try to provide uh 360 degrees of solution related to sanitation. So our products, main product basically, is uh eye trap where uh where we save uh a lot of water uh which is beneath any pan or any uh WC, where uh it's a connecting system which uh basically transports the P and Poo to its right place and it does with less amount of water. So that is the Technology which SATO has developed, which no company in the world has done. They have just made P trap, S trap, where always water is always remaining out there and smell comes. But in our case, we don't need any flush system. We just need around 500 ml to 1.5 liters of water, which will move the P and Poo and it will be cleared. The other technologies, what we are using is that we have got this uh plastic western commode again, a polypropene. So uh it's easy to transport, it will not break. So hilly areas and uh snowy areas uh we can carry uh uh our products uh which will not break and ease of transportation as I pointed out, ease of installation. And we have got products like pit liners, uh, where it's a soak pit which will increase uh the level of water by rainwater harvesting, and it can get two pits basically uh for the pee and poo, and it uh basically uh helps in maintaining hygienic uh uh basically uh uh you uh the pit soak pits, and then we have got a product called uh slab, SATO slab, where in emergencies, wherever emergencies are there, wherever you need a toilet in a in a ziffee, you don't need to construct with a brick or something like that. You've got a slab, you just have got four nails, you just fix it out there, you've got a pan, you've got a stool, and you can put any cloth over it or any other uh superstructure over it, and your toilet is ready. So SATO is uh building on 360-degree experiences of sanitation, so like emergency situation or uh low water situation or uh affordability situation that people cannot afford, Sato is there. So these are some of the uh innovative products, and there's one more uh my favorite product, which is a Sato tap, which is a portable hand wash uh system uh which you can carry anywhere, children love it, uh, and any pet reusable bottle.

SPEAKER_04 24:14

Like we are Yeah, I think you had that at the summit, right? You had some at the summit, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 24:19

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yeah, that's very cool. Yeah, yes, yes, that's very interesting. Uh, you are reusing a plastic bottle, basically. You're giving life to the plastic bottle, and you are saving a lot of water, and uh children are learning uh hand hygiene practice, and it is used in healthcare also. And wherever people uh want to uh means uh get their hands clean in a jiffy, shadow tap is there.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

So it's something that you fix to a plastic bottle, and then is it like a pump and you can wash your hands with it?

SPEAKER_05 24:51

Yes, yes, it has got a gravity basically, uh, where if you push it down, it was actually discovered in COVID by our innovator Daigo Ishiyama. So uh he he devised it for his uh uh child that uh how to clean the hand without uh just using your this and gravity, water comes, and when you push it up, water goes back and it's closed. So you're saving a lot of water out there.

SPEAKER_04 25:18

Yeah, very cool.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

Hey friends, it's Jocelyn with Zulu. I want to share something that's really stuck with me after doing this podcast for the past few years. I feel like I've lived these stories. Listening to what so many women and families go through every single day. As a mom with two young daughters, it hits me on a completely different level. Imagine having to wake up before dawn and risk assault just to find a private place to go to the bathroom. For 673 million people, that's not hypothetical. That's daily life. And for so many girls, the lack of a safe, clean toilet means they drop out of school once they reach puberty. Just trying to manage something as basic as hygiene ends up costing them their education and their future. That's why Zulu Humanitarian is doing this work. Building safe, sustainable toilets and clean water solutions for families who need them most. It's not just about sanitation, it's about dignity, safety, and giving girls a real chance. And here's the part that gets me. You can change that for a family. Just $350. That's less than a dollar a day. You can fund a toilet for up to seven people. If this speaks to you at all, please go to Zulu, spelled Z-U-L-O-O.org slash give. That's Z U L O Org slash give. It really does make a difference.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

What has been um, you know, you've been in the sanitation space, did you say two decades?

SPEAKER_05 26:58

Uh no, basically I was in building material basically for two decades. Sanitation, I have been here like for the past 18 months.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

Oh, okay. So you're still relatively new.

SPEAKER_05 27:09

Yes, yes, yes. And I'm enjoying every bit of it as I told you that this was a time to uh give it back to the because sanitation is part of building material industry only, but uh uh this is a different ball game altogether.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

Well, I think it's it's wonderful to hear about what's working. I also think it's important to highlight maybe things that Sato has tried or you have tried to implement that haven't worked and why. Have you come up against some challenges where you've said, okay, maybe this isn't gonna work out the way I need to, and we need to pivot. Um, I think this these kind of lessons are really beneficial, especially for other people trying to make an impact in the space.

SPEAKER_05 27:49

Right, right. See, challenges are always there, challenges are part of life. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. So I would say Sato gets going. As such, uh, our uh our biggest advantage is that uh like uh we are the only uh basically uh uh plastic polypropylene with this technology solution provider. That's our advantage also, that's our disadvantage also, because sometimes people think about plastics that they are not good. But you see, uh we are using plastics in a uh valuable manner all around the world. So wherever plastics are needed, plastics cannot go from this world because they have got dependability, they have got this uh flexibility of things uh which where they can be used at many places. So, our main thing is to convince people that this is a virgin gate plastic, and why this is helpful, because uh other products they can break, uh they have got uh more uh basically sophistication of installation, and you need uh uh trained masons for it. But for this, anyone can install, even women in India they are installing SATA toilets, they are getting a livelihood and they are enjoying themselves and giving good life to their children and their family. So, yes, challenges are there for acceptability, and our role comes in by uh telling all the USPs of the product, and when people use it, then they vouch for it. Then they say, Yes, this is a good product, and we should use it.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

So getting people to trust the product and to have faith enough to try it, and then they're converted, they're on board.

unknown 29:36

Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:37

Have you have you run into some specific challenges just um you know, trying to educate people on why they should want these products? I we've you know we speak to people all over the world, and sometimes it is a bit of an effort to get people to change the way they think about their their daily sanitation practices.

SPEAKER_05 29:58

See, yes, nature, the habits, they change uh like very slowly. Okay. So so the thing is that uh with our live demonstrations overall and live usage, only people are able to uh get convinced as such. Yes, challenges are absolutely there. People compare with the uh uh many other uh products in the market which they have been using all the years. So so it's uh it's a habit-changing exercise, which is not easy for anyone as such. But uh when we when they see the shine of our product, when they see the utility of the product, I'll say not everybody gets convinced, but yes, some of them who matters, who needs the product, uh basically uh wherever uh the water scarcity is there, wherever uh they they don't have uh tanks or they don't have electricity. Uh so there uh they get convinced over a period of time that yes, uh this is a better product and uh we can use it. And uh like uh I'll tell you uh uh like we have been using uh this product in congregation of people like melas, like if you have heard of Mahakum Mela, which was the biggest congregation in Priyagraj in India of people all around the world, and we had so many people out there, they were like around uh uh more than 1.5 lakh means around 15 million toilets were there, and and and and we also got an opportunity out there. And our contractor, toilet contractor, he said, I've been using the normal uh toilets, I've been using SATA toilets, and in your case, the pit capacity increased. In your case, the maintenance cost got loaded. In your case, SATA case basically he had to use less of the sludge machine's vehicles. So he was very happy about it, and he's been reusing those toilets after cleaning them in in other congregation melas. So uh yes, challenge was there.

SPEAKER_04 32:10

Yeah, yeah. Was this the festival? Was this the festival? The yes, yes, the large, it's I think it's isn't it the like the largest largest in the world? Largest. It's like a million, like uh it makes Bernie Man look like minuscule. It's like a like I think over how many was it like a million? I can't even remember the number. It was like some it was it was more than that. Four million people uh congregate at this river river crossing, and and it's a place where Sangam basically. Yeah, they don't have any much infrastructure at all, you know, and it but it happens, is it every year that it's or every four years something? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_05 32:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually, it happens a small mela happens every year, but this was this happened after 12 years. Okay. This was the biggest one.

SPEAKER_04 32:56

Yeah, so I mean, I remember reading about it, like, okay, I mean, yeah, so you have four million people congregating in a little a little river crossing area. It's uh yeah.

SPEAKER_06 33:08

They need for toilet.

SPEAKER_04 33:10

We gotta think about how you know where are those people gonna go, right? So so you guys were helping uh make that happen or make it yes, yes, yes, so I do have a a pretty basic question.

SPEAKER_02 33:21

I I guess I'm I'm still not quite understanding when someone uses a Sato toilet, where does the waste go? I I heard you say it's being separated and water's being preserved, but where does the waste actually go?

SPEAKER_05 33:34

Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you, I'll tell you. Uh first I wanted to just correct uh therein that uh there were not four million, uh there were four more than four hundred million.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Four hundred million?

SPEAKER_05 33:46

Yes, yes, over a period of a period of around two months.

SPEAKER_04 33:50

Okay, so it's not all in one uh uh uh week or yeah, it is like a pilgrimage. Yes, yes, yes. You've got that many people right coming through this area, right?

SPEAKER_05 34:00

Yes, 24 hours, 24 hours. Okay, the toilet.

SPEAKER_01 34:04

400 million people.

SPEAKER_05 34:06

That's amazing. Yes, amazing.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

That's incredible.

SPEAKER_05 34:09

Yes, yes, and now coming back to your question, I'll give you an example.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

Yeah, now I really want to know where the waste is going.

SPEAKER_05 34:14

Yes, yes, so I was telling you, like in this, uh, I will give you an example of this Mela, this congregation only. So there the contractor had constructed the toilets, okay, and he had put uh Sato pan and SATO eye trap. With the eye trap, eye trap is a connector, which I told you it takes the P and Pooh together out, and there with the pipes, uh, they had connected, they had made a pit. Pit basically, in the pit, uh the the waste was going out there, and then those waste was being uh taken out by sludge machines. The vehicles were there who were taking it out, who were emptying it out, and in our case, in SATO case, uh he had to send uh few machines because he had not to send every time, but in other cases where water was being flushed or water was being used more than SATO, there he had to send it regularly, so it was flushed out and then it was uh taken uh for recycling and uh to the waste area. So yes, so we have to uh SATO uh uh pants they have to be connected with the connector to the sewage area, basically the sewage pipes from where the sewage connection will uh uh take uh uh form of uh basically so uh it will make uh what do you say a urea kind of thing in villages and all uh what they use as a fertilizer uh basically they they turn into a manure by adding some chemicals to it and they reuse it.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

So so there is a system to remove the sewage to to a place where it's being manually removed, and then they're repurposing for fertilizer, um manure basically. Okay, okay. Thank you for clarifying that because I'm thinking how manually like through the machines and all.

SPEAKER_05 36:05

Yeah, manually means through the machines and all. Machines, through the machines and all, manually, not by hand or something.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

Right, right, sure. Yes. That's that's a better way to do it. Mechanically, not manually. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:15

That's a question Jocelyn often asks. Where does this go? Where does it go?

SPEAKER_02 36:19

Where does it go? Where does it go? Where does it go?

SPEAKER_04 36:20

When you flush it, where does it go?

SPEAKER_02 36:22

That is such an issue. Yeah, and you know, I I think a lot of us in the States, we flush it and forget it. We never think about where it's going. Not every, you know, a lot of other places that is a constant issue. If there's flooding and it's in pits and it's not being removed in a timely manner, and you know, so knowing the nitty-gritty of where it's, you know, what happens after it comes out of us is is obviously a really important detail.

SPEAKER_05 36:47

Right.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

That's a secret you have that figured out.

SPEAKER_05 36:50

Yes, that's a different department like seawage, the waste management, and all. So that is altogether a different ball game together. But we we try to uh reduce the water, reduce the smell, and provide uh affordable and durable solutions to all.

SPEAKER_02 37:08

Well, I can't believe it's already been 30 minutes. These interviews go so quickly.

SPEAKER_05 37:13

Yeah, yeah, I was enjoying every bit. I thought we just started it.

SPEAKER_02 37:17

I yes, I know. There are more questions, but that just means that we'll have to have you back and we'll have to meet in person at in South Africa at the next World Toilet Summit. But Prashant, thank you so much for spending time with us explaining more about yourself, your passion for sanitation, and providing dignity for people in their everyday lives. Um, we are so grateful for your time.

SPEAKER_03 37:40

All right. Really, really great interview. A lot of amazing products, big range of sanitation products on their site.

SPEAKER_04 37:48

Oh, yeah, super smart. I mean, just innovative, just cutting edge, all of the above. So, yeah, super excited. Uh yeah, to have uh uh, yeah, we're gonna try to convince Lixel to maybe do some additional episodes, maybe in Tokyo, who knows? But uh yeah, uh great, great company, and Prashant is awesome.

SPEAKER_03 38:05

Yeah, all right. Well, thanks again, Prashant, and uh thank you guys for joining us. We'll see you next time. This episode of the Zulu Podcast has been sponsored by Zulu Humanitarian, advancing dignity, health, and opportunity through sanitation. Learn more at Zulu.org.

SPEAKER_00 38:24

Thank you for listening to the Zulu Podcast. Follow us on social media and visit Zulu.org to learn more about how Zulu is helping tackle the global sanitation crisis. Through toilets, clean water, and hygiene solutions. If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe, like, comment, and share. And if you'd like to support our mission, visit our website to learn how you can help change lives through better sanitation.