For the millions of Ghanaians without in-home toilets, there are few good options when it comes to our bodies’ most basic functions. Working with Unilever and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), IDEO.org developed Clean Team, a comprehensive sanitation system that delivers and maintains toilets in the homes of subscribers. Clean Team now serves 4,500 people in Kumasi, Ghana, making lives cleaner, healthier, and more dignified.
Clean Team is a multi-touchpoint approach to in-home sanitation, and IDEO.org’s design work ranged from industrial design to branding to business. One of the main components of Clean Team is a custom-designed stand-alone toilet, but what sets Clean Team apart is the turnkey waste-removal system that supports it. We worked with our partners to understand the full sanitation ecosystem, from long lines at public toilets to just how comfortable people are disposing of their own waste. One of our biggest learnings was that though no matter how compelling or aspirational the toilet itself, no one wanted to slosh a bucket of waste through their homes. Accordingly a full-on delivery, removal, and maintenance system was born.
Clean Team's full service model includes a toilet and pickup of waste.
Unilever and WSUP piloted the project with about 100 families in the city of Kumasi, Ghana, before launching in 2012. Today, Clean Team has installed over 600 toilets and is now making lives cleaner and healthier for over 4,500 of people in Kumasi.
