VUNA - Nutrient harvesting in South Africa
About us
About us
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An acronym, name and credo at the same time, VUNA stands for Valorisation of Urine Nutrients in Africa, and is the name of our project. In isiZulu, the language of the project area in the municipality of eThekwini, South Africa, the word vuna means harvest. A healthy harvest follows a balanced nutrient application to the crops. And, in the case of the VUNA project, the necessary nutrients are harvested from urine. |
By recovering nutrients from urine in decentralised reactors, VUNA aims to promote a dry sanitation system affordable to the poor, produce a valuable fertiliser, foster entrepreneurship, and reduce water pollution. In an interdisciplinary approach between eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS), the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and Eawag, we develop various nutrient recovery technologies, establish urine collection systems and identify social and economic implications of urine collection and treatment.