Point Reyes Management joins with other Y Combinator investors to support Sanitation and Health Righ

In India roughly 600 million citizens lack access to basic sanitation services and 100 million are without clean water. Sanitation and Health Rights in India (SHRI), a non-profit that came out of the Winter 2016 Y Combinator batch, fights alongside communities to end open defecation as a key step in an ongoing struggle for health equity and social and economic justice.

SOCIETY: Women and girls are exposed to sexual assault and rape as they walk to the fields alone to relieve themselves. 40% of female school dropouts cite the lack of school toilets as the reason.

HEALTH: 800,000 new cases of Waterborne diseases are reported every year in the region where SHRI operates. 500,000 Indians die from these waterborne diseases as a result of consuming food and water contaminated with dangerous fecal waste.

ECONOMY: 6% of India’s GDP is spent on the negative consequences associated with outdoor defecation. $34 billion is spent every year on health care costs stemming from the lack of toilets. We are pleased to support SHRI’s mission to provide communities in India access to both toilets and safe drinking water.

SHRI's Solution:

1. SHRI constructs toilet facilities on government land for $30,000. This includes 8 toilets for men, 8 for women, plumbing, hand washing stations, and the biogas digester. The toilet facilities are always free to use in order to encourage consistent use by community members.

2. Human waste is hygienically disposed of in the biogas digester. Anerobic digestion produces methane gas.

3. Methane gas is used as energy by powering a generator.

4. SHRI's water filtration system is installed through a partnership with DrinkWell Systems. It is WHO certified and removes arsenic, flouride, iron, and bacteria from water, making it safe to drink. Water is sold to customers for $0.008 per liter. ATM technology allows customers to pre-pay for their water and simply swipe their card to dispense it.

5. SHRI offsets the operation and maintenance costs of each facility though the sale of this water. 250 water customers generate $900 per month for the costs at each site.