Humanure Dry Toilets, low-tech tricks

Use locally-available material, simple technics and tools to build Humanure Dry Toilets to:

• Collect human refuses (urine and feces) without insect nor bad smell,
• Mitigate sanitation issues related to black water and human excreta,
• Reduce soil pollution,
• Reduce water pollution,
• Reduce waterborne diseases,
• Generate potent fertilizers for the garden,
• Reduce (if not eradicate) use of chemicals (fertilizer, biocides, chemical soaps…),
• Raise awareness about the human nutrient cycle and the ecosystemic logic of Nature.

In this Technical Sheet we only focus on how to build the Humanure Dry Toilets. One should also consider User Manuals and Compost Procedures as essential complements!

Difficulté

Easy Facile

Durée

2 hour(s) heure(s)

Catégories

Alimentation & Agriculture, Mobilier, Maison

Coût

25 USD ($)

Humanure, Compost, Low-Tech, Dry toilet, Sustainable, Autonomy en none Technique 0

Introduction

In Uganda and Kenya, and for sure many other places worldwide, we acknowledge that the people use pit latrines to deal with human excreta. Sometimes the same room is used for showering and toilets. If you are not yet familiar with pit latrines, it is rather simple: dig a pit (6 to 30 ft deep), install a floor on top of the pit with a hole in the middle: you have pit latrines. On the one hand, pit latrines are a rather forward way of dealing with human refuses (urine and feces) and easy to install with low technology in remote areas with little or no access to sanitation infrastructure and where water is too precious to urinate or defecate in (is it not the case everywhere???). But on the other hand, pit latrines also:

• Attract insects such as flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches; those insects are well-known vectors for diseases (going back and forth from latrine to kitchen…),
• Pollute the soil due to the high density of pathogenic agents from human refuses,
• Eventually pollute the water: underground water if water table less than 10 feet \ three meters under the pit OR during rainy seasons as water table raises. According to “The Humanure Handbook” and a doctor we met in Mayuge, East Uganda, 80% of diseases are waterborne,
• Smell bad (personal statement).

Moreover, some of the farms we visited wish to become organic but do not manage to get rid of chemicals to fertilize crops and kill “pests”. We could write a lot about this topic but, in a nutshell, it is a vicious circle: the chemicals harm the soil, the soil cannot support the plants as efficiently as desired, the farmers use chemicals to secure a yield, repeat.

Our solution and its expectable benefits

Use locally-available material, simple technics and tools to build Humanure Dry Toilets to:

• Collect human refuses (urine and feces) without insect nor bad smell,
• Mitigate sanitation issues related to black water and human excreta,
• Reduce soil pollution,
• Reduce water pollution,
• Reduce waterborne diseases,
• Generate potent fertilizers for the garden,
• Reduce (if not eradicate) use of chemicals (fertilizer, biocides, chemical soaps…),
• Raise awareness about the human nutrient cycle and the ecosystemic logic of Nature.

In this Technical Sheet we only focus on how to build the Humanure Dry Toilets. One should also consider User Manuals and Compost Procedures as essential complements!

Matériaux

• Parts:
  • ¾”-thick wood (see FAQ & Troubleshooting? for alternative sizes):
    • (1) 18” x 18” [A],
    • (1) 18” x 3” [B],
    • (2) 10” x 18” [C1] and [C2],
    • (2) 10” 19,5” [D1] and [D2],
    • (4) 3” x 12” [E1] to [E4];
  • (2) Hinges,
  • (1) Toilet seat,
  • (4) Buckets (20 L, identical),
• Consumables:
  • Nails AND/OR screws* (for wood) (2” \ 5 cm),
  • Sandpaper;

Outils

• Tools (*if you use screws)(see FAQ & Troubleshooting? for alternatives):
  • (1) Saw,
  • (1) Hammer with fork head,
  • (1*) Screwdriver,
  • (1) Drill,
  • (1) Square,
  • (1) Pair of pliers,
  • (1) File;

Étape 1 - How?

Refer to the pictures available in the gallery. Proceed as follows to build you own Humanure Dry Toilets.

Required Conditions

• Team:
  • Two
• Required skills:
  • Basic carpentry skills to properly use the tools
• Duration:
  • Two hours
• Preliminary requirements:
  • NA (except acquire the necessary parts and consumables)

Étape 2 - Read and inspire from the "Humanure Handbook"

We largely (totally), inspire from the great “The Humanure Handbook”, a Guide to Composting Human Manure by Joseph Jenkins; more specifically “Chapter 8: The Tao of Compost”. Since, “Portions of this book may be copied and distributed without permission as long as a) the information is not changed, b) the publishing source is credited and c) the distribution is not for profit.” (Jenkins, 2005), we directly reproduce the procedure from “The Humanure Handbook”.

We only used nails and many tricks available in the FAQ & Troubleshooting?

Étape 3 - Build the Humanure Toilet with hinged top - 1 of 3

Étape 4 - Build the Humanure Toilet with hinged top - 2 of 3

Étape 5 - Build the Humanure Toilet with hinged top - 3 of 3

Étape 6 - Read and inspire from the "Humanure Handbook"

We largely (totally), inspire from the great “The Humanure Handbook”, a Guide to Composting Human Manure by Joseph Jenkins; more specifically “Chapter 8: The Tao of Compost”. Since, “Portions of this book may be copied and distributed without permission as long as a) the information is not changed, b) the publishing source is credited and c) the distribution is not for profit.” (Jenkins, 2005), we directly reproduce the procedure from “The Humanure Handbook”.

We only used nails and many tricks available in the FAQ & Troubleshooting?

Étape 7 - Build the Humanure Toilet with hinged top - 1 of 3

Étape 8 - Build the Humanure Toilet with hinged top - 2 of 3

Étape 9 - Build the Humanure Toilet with hinged top - 3 of 3