INITIATIVEResearch stage
Where do you go when you need a toilet in Fort Kochi?
An attempt to understand a surprisingly overlooked problem in my hometown.
It started with a tourist near Darbar Hall at 10 PM, looking for a toilet that none of us could point to.
Fort Kochi and Mattancherry have public toilets, but many are closed, and the ones that work are hard to find. Apps and programmes like KLOO, ToiletSeva, and the Kochi Ithile wayfinding signs already exist. This initiative looks at why the information still isn't reaching the people who need it, and what could change that.
For now it's research, with Fort Kochi and Mattancherry as a small pilot area:
- Talking to visitors about where they look first when they need a toilet
- Visiting existing toilets to document their condition and check how accurate the listings are
- Speaking with restaurant and cafe owners about opening their toilets to the public
- Learning from Suchitwa Mission, Kerala Tourism, and the Kochi Municipal Corporation
It's volunteer-led, through Martian Days. Research, conversations, findings, and experiments will be shared here as they happen.
If you've worked on public sanitation, tourism, urban planning, or mapping, or you live in, visit, or run a business in Fort Kochi or Mattancherry, I'd love to hear from you at hello@martiandays.com.