B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●○ medium
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q3Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q3BHistory grows each quarter
SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods): Returning human waste to the soil in a city with no sewers. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q3; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Haiti has almost no wastewater treatment. The pit latrines lining city alleys overflow in the rainy season, and sewage runs straight into the spaces where people live. In 2006, Sasha Kramer — who had just completed a PhD in ecology at Stanford and had been working in Haiti since 2004 — founded SOIL together with Sarah Brownell, Baudeler Magloire, Johnny Estimable and Josaphat Augustin. The idea, they say, came out of Haiti's own grassroots movements.
The core business is EkoLakay (lakay is Haitian Creole for "home"), a monthly household toilet service. It uses no water: waste collects in a container that staff collect once a week. At the treatment site it is composted at high temperature into agricultural-grade compost. Solving the city's sanitation problem and returning fertility to depleted soil have become one and the same process.
In the northern city of Cap-Haïtien, more than 4,100 households — over 21,000 people — use the service daily. SOIL treats more than 650 tonnes of waste a year and produces over 350 tonnes of compost. In January 2026 it signed a contract with DINEPA, Haiti's national water and sanitation directorate, under which the government pays for container-based sanitation as a public service on a results-based basis. It is described as a global first for container-based sanitation.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
In one household in Cap-Haïtien there was only a half-broken pit latrine, and it was not safe. A customer who took up EkoLakay puts it this way: "Before EkoLakay I had a pit latrine that did not work and was not safe. With EkoLakay's service I am happy, comfortable, and healthy. For me and my family, EkoLakay has given us a special place in our home to use the toilet." Another says the service "helps many families who weren't living well… it allows you to live with dignity." In a customer survey, 88% reported that their quality of life in terms of health had improved, and 97% said the same of security.
Source nature: SOIL / P5 programme-official (customer satisfaction survey). Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- Signed a contract with DINEPA, Haiti's national water and sanitation directorate, for the government to purchase container-based sanitation services on a results-based basis (described as a global first for container-based sanitation)P1 contract with a public authority / SOIL / DINEPA
- The World Bank published a document evaluating the potential of container-based sanitation (SOIL) in Cap-HaïtienP1 international body / World Bank
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Business continuity given Haiti's security and political situation
- fulfilment of the results-based government contract
- independent verification of health outcomes
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Embedding and expanding container-based sanitation as a public service through the DINEPA results-based contract.
A second look
User numbers, compost volumes and satisfaction scores come mainly from SOIL's own tallies and surveys; independent long-term verification of health outcomes such as reduced diarrhoeal disease is limited. The World Bank document (2019) evaluated the potential of the model rather than estimating causal effects. Deteriorating security and logistics in Haiti could unsettle the very premise of weekly collection. Whether the results-based government contract continues to be honoured remains to be seen.
Sources
+N1SOIL｜EkoLakay Customer Satisfaction Report: Improved Safety, Health, and Affordability｜2017-08｜🔗 + effectSOIL / DINEPA｜Haiti Sets a Global First with Government Contract for Container-Based Sanitation Services｜2026-01｜🔗 + effectWorld Bank｜Evaluating the Potential of Container-Based Sanitation: SOIL in Cap-Haitien, Haiti｜2019｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q3 | Back to top