Let’s start with a quick introduction – who are you, and what’s your connection to the sanitation sector?

My name is Emily Woods. I'm the co-founder and current COO of Sanivation, which is a non-sewered sanitation company based in Kenya, but working across sub-Saharan Africa. I've been, as my friends like to say, a “poop Smith” for almost 20 years now; trying to come up with innovative approaches to non-sewered sanitation.

What originally brought you into this field? Was there a key moment or motivation?

I studied mechanical engineering because I wanted a degree that could take me anywhere. While working abroad on a ship, I started thinking about how water and sanitation are handled in closed environments. Back home, I researched waste treatment and discovered that some composting toilets were making people sicker than pit latrines, because the process wasn’t fully working. That made me want to develop something 100% safe. So, we started Sanivation and began experimenting with solar treatment of human waste; literally mirrors and metal buckets. When we saw it worked, I thought: ‘We’ve solved it!’ I was 22 and very optimistic.

 What keeps you passionate and motivated to work in this sector?

I’m unbelievably passionate about poop! It’s wild that humans have always produced waste, yet we still haven’t solved how to manage it. 

“We’ve had the technology to go to space for 75 years, yet children are still dying from diarrhea. How did we skip sanitation?”

Sanitation isn’t “sexy,” so it often gets ignored. But being in a small sector meant I got to connect with global experts early on, which was exciting as a young professional.

And what really keeps me going is the direct impact. For example, we’ve been working with manual pit emptiers in Kenya. Their work is hard and dangerous; yet they provide an essential service. Being able to introduce equipment and models that make their jobs safer and more dignified… that makes it all worth it.

In your view, how can we break the taboo around toilets and sanitation – and why does that matter?

There’s definitely hope. When I came to Kenya 14 years ago, no one at the national level was talking about non-sewered sanitation. It wasn’t in their targets or budgets.

Now, things have shifted. Non-sewered sanitation has a home under the Ministry of Water. They’re creating a directorate specifically for it, which means money can finally flow directly into fecal sludge management. National targets have been adjusted to reflect that not everyone will be on sewers and that we need safe alternatives now. But globally, I still feel sanitation isn’t getting the attention or investment it needs. Population growth is outpacing our progress. So even if we’re improving in some places, the overall numbers are stagnant or getting worse.

What’s one widespread myth or misconception about sanitation you’d love to change?

On the farm where I live, I installed composting toilets for our workers. At first, people were skeptical and afraid to even open the compost vaults. But after two and a half years, the compost was so well processed they said it looked like fresh coffee! Now they’re proud to show off their toilets to visitors. That kind of perception change is possible and so encouraging.

What would it take to get more people – especially young professionals – excited about sanitation work?

It starts with education. When I was in university, sanitation was never mentioned. But now, some Kenyan universities have non-sewered sanitation tracks in civil engineering. That’s huge. There are also new textbooks and learning materials coming out. I know that sounds boring, but most of us learned from textbooks, and having those materials available makes a big difference.

SuSanA has also been an amazing platform. I used it early on and it was one of the first places where I saw what others were doing globally. It’s accessible to students, practitioners, and experts alike, which makes it a powerful tool for building interest and community.

Looking ahead: What’s your hope for the sanitation sector in the next 10 years?

This year has been hard. With USAID pulling out of Kenya, we realized just how central their funding was. It supported everything; from technical working group meetings to program implementation. When that stopped, a key piece of the puzzle disappeared. And it's not just USAID. Many countries are changing their approach to aid. We all know we need domestic investment and government ownership to make sanitation sustainable. But even when governments make commitments, they often don’t follow through.

Last, but not least: Can you describe your dream toilet or sanitation system?

It would be dry-based. No question. Water-based systems just aren’t sustainable, especially in many of the places I work. It would be something where I know exactly what happens to the waste, how it’s processed, how the resources are recovered, and that the whole cycle is managed well. And honestly, once you get used to dry toilets, flush toilets start to feel like a hassle!

Learn more about Sanivation: https://sanivation.com/