On August 2, 2018, FORKAMI and USAID IUWASH PLUS conducted desludging service pilot activities for Benteng Mikro Indonesia Sharia Cooperative (Kopsyah BMI) customers in Sepatan sub-district, Tangerang district. The event aimed to identify the desludging patterns and foresee the operational needs.
The desludging service piloting is part of the septage management program, a Kopsyah BMI program to provide regular desludging services for Kopsyah BMI customers. This program is supported by USAID IUWASH PLUS through the Local Sustainability and Innovation Component (LSIC) activity. Through this LSIC activity, FORKAMI (a community-based Forum for Water, Waste and Environment Quality) is selected to increase the capacity of Kopsyah BMI in managing the septage management program, including facilitating Kopsyah BMI to work with UPTD PALD (regional implementing unit for wastewater management) of Tangerang district, to deliver the desludging services. As part of this program, FORKAMI uses an Android-based survey application developed by USAID IUWASH PLUS to map the customers and classify them into closest and farthest points, based on the distance between the customers’ septic tanks and the main road.
During this pilot activity, the desludging service was conducted in the houses of two Kopsyah BMI customers, Ibu Ecin and Ibu Enas, who also participated in the cooperative’s microfinance scheme for water and sanitation facilities to build toilets, septic tanks, and bathroom in their houses. Ibu Ecin and Ibu Enas represented Kopsyah BMI customers with the closest and farthest points between their septic tank locations and the main road. Representing the closest point, Ibu Ecin’s septic tank is located around 15–20 meter from the main road, while Ibu Enas is more than 170 meter. Different distance between septic tank location and the main road would require trucks and equipment with different specifications.
Following the desludging service piloting, FORKAMI will develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for desludging services, and create a specific service for the customers at farthest points. In addition, UPTD PALD will assign more operators to provide desludging services for such customer typology.
Manager of Kopsyah BMI of Sepatan branch office, Kurtubi, really appreciated the program. “The desludging service is very helpful for our customers who take the sanitation microfinance scheme. Before [the desludging service was piloted], we worried that our customers would file complains because their septic tanks were full,” he explained.
Around 23 participants representing Kopsyah BMI and partners, USAID IUWASH PLUS, FORKAMI, and UPTD PALD participated in this event.
