Disruption of poverty measures

Ike Señeres.

I DEVELOPED a mnemonic device so that we could easily remember the five poverty indicators used in the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) namely Floor, Assets, Cooking Fuel, Electricity, Toilets and Safe Water (Facets). As an incurable optimist, I believe that it is theoretically possible to physically or virtually “graduate” families from below the poverty line, provided that they could gain access to the five services or functionalities as enumerated in Facets. Again as an incurable optimist, it seems that I could freely interpret how these services could be delivered or made available as the case may be. I am confident that no one would challenge my interpretation because if they do, it would just enable me to identify a possible advocacy partner.

In theory, a family could gain access to a decent floor if their present floor that is made with dirt, dung or sand is replaced by wood, cement or synthetic tiles, as the case may be. As I know it, this does not really require rocket science and all it takes really is some kind of imagination along with some determination. And this does not have to happen overnight, because tiles could be installed as these are made available. What is important is to know that the installation of tiles is not just for aesthetic reasons and instead it is also for safety and health reasons, and perhaps that is the reason why the United Nations included access to floors as one of the MPI indicators.

The assets that could be owned by a family as defined by the MPI could include radios, telephones, bikes, refrigerators or cars, among others. The choices could vary, but main point being is for the family to acquire or gain access to another asset on top of, or aside from what they already have. Well, this too is a non-brainer because everyone knows that nowadays, appliances are so easy to acquire, more so because the second hand market is so robust. Aside from that, the prices of smart phones have gone down, and aside from that, the older feature phones are being sold practically for a song. In case you have not noticed, many of the families that are supposed to be poor have satellite antennas on their rooftops.

With floors and assets now set aside as possible obstacles to the graduation out of poverty that would only leave four challenges namely cooking fuel, electricity, toilets and safe water. Not that I will again claim to be an incurable optimist but it seems to me that all these four challenges are “within the commerce of man” and therefore these could be supplied easily, more so that these four are generally addressable through the use of appropriate technologies. Take cooking fuel for instance. For as long as I can remember, Filipino families have been cooking with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and there seems to be no way out of it, it seems that it is a perpetualt trap that has ensnared us forever.

I beg to disagree because after a long and patient search, I have finally found the technology that would enable Filipino families to produce biogas from human waste, a resource that is everywhere, just in case you have not noticed. For a long time now, there has been a prevailing wisdom that we could not produce biogas from human waste because it is not as potent as animal waste, and so therefore we had no alternative but to blend animal waste with human waste. That is not really a problem in the rural areas but that is definitely a problem in the urban areas where poultry and livestock are banned. But now, thanks to a technology developed by Dr. Nars Intal, that is no longer a problem. That is because enzymes could now be mixed with human waste to produce biogas faster than ever. That should take care of our need for affordable cooking fuel.

As we all know by now, renewable energy could already be produced using solar, wind, hydro, dendro and other sustainable solutions. And for as long as there is affordable electricity, it would already be easy to pump up water for the toilets and to filter clean and safe water for drinking, washing, cooking and bathing, among other needs. Needless to say, biogas could also be used for lighting and that could lessen the demand for electricity from the grid. All these considered, perhaps you would agree with me that in theory, it would be possible to graduate Filipino families from below the poverty line, if they could gain access to these services or functionalities.

Come to think of it, the technology of Dr. Intal is not only good for society because it could reduce poverty, but it is also good for the environment because it could clean our rivers and other waterways, aside from removing the bad odours. Of course, it is also good for food security. Down the line, we could say that it is good for our economy because it could reduce the cost of foreign exchange needed to import the raw materials for the LPGs. It is not yet clear how it is possible, but there could be large amounts of carbon credits that could be earned from this exercise. The biggest advantage of all is that we will be creating wealth from waste and disrupting the way that we measure poverty.

E-mail: iseneres@yahoo.com