A toilet business might not sound appealing for some people, but not for Uki Sukatma or known as Pak Uki—a resident of RT 2/RW2 in Kedaung Barat village, in Sepatan Timur sub-district, Tangerang district. The man, who previously worked as a mason, has been running a toilet and septic tank business since 2013 to make a living for his wife and four children.
“The sanitation business is actually very promising because it meets human basic needs. Moreover, many families in the village do not have toilets and still do their business outside,” Pak Uki explained his motivation.
“Serving them not only gives me income, but also self-satisfaction for being able to help people in need,” he added.
Pak Uki’s statement was supported with the baseline data of the STBM M&E from the Ministry of Health, which indicated that 875HHs of 3,403HHs in Kedaung Barat practiced defecation and 23HHs used shared toilets.
Nevertheless, Pak Uki explained that his business was not growing well. “I was only able to sell on average two toilets with septic tanks every month, said Pak Uki. Luckily, Pak Uki is also one of the district government contractor partners to build toilets for their sanitation grants, so he can still earn an income from these orders. He also makes hand washing facilities and trash bins to generate income.
To help Pak Uki expand his market, USAID IUWASH PLUS connected him to microfinance institutions, such as MBK and BPR NBP 12 between 2019 and 2020 so that he could serve the banks’ customers.
Besides, Pak Uki also participated in the trainings held by USAID IUWASH PLUS, in which he learned about safely managed sanitation, proper septic tank construction, marketing strategy, financial management, and behavior change promotion. With such knowledge, Pak Uki is able to support the puskesmas, the health office, and the housing and settlement office of Tangerang district educate community on clean and healthy behaviors.
“With support from USAID IUWASH PLUS, I am now able to make a clear, measurable, and realistic marketing strategy and am able to participate in the clean and healthy behavior promotions conducted by puskesmas and other district offices.
Since joining the promotion activities, more people know about my business,” explained Pak Uki. “I hope my business keeps growing and I can help more low-income families to have safe toilets,” he added.
Utilizing his new skills in the business management. Pak Uki has been able to grow his business. “Thanks be to God. I have had around 200 customers and sold 50 toilets with septic tanks until June 2020,” he continued.
To serve more customers, Pak Uki has purchased new equipment and recruited more staff to serve all his customers.
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