Does proper usage decrease with time?

Do people stop using their latrines properly after they run out of the dry material? Do they stop maintaining them after a few years? Let’s take a look at some of the basic data and see how this can show us how we can create better compost latrine projects.

 

Of all the latrines I looked at built in 2009 or earlier, 18 of 48 were used properly ( 38%) were still using them properly 5+ years later.

2009 and Earlier
Total Used Properly	18
Total	48
% Used Prop	38%

 

50% of latrines built between 2010 -2014 were still being used properly.

Years 2010-2014
Total Used Properly	23
Total	46
% Used Prop	50%

 

Interestingly, when I looked at latrines built in just the last year or two only 47% were still being used properly.

Years 2013-2014
Total Used Properly	17
Total	36
% Used Prop	47%

 

There are a number of reasons that increased time might mean that the latrine isn’t used properly. Sometimes the family moves away and rents out their house (and latrine) to newcomers that don’t understand how the latrine works. People may simply not value the compost and no longer feel it is worth the time and energy to keep a constant supply of dry material. Some simply ran out of dry material one day and never went to get more.

What I find most interesting is that even in the most recent latrine projects, in the last 2 years (less than, really) only 47% of these latrine users are using them properly.  In these communities people sometimes even had sacks full of dry material inside the latrine, but were just not putting in dry material after every use.  This hurts my heart a little bit.

This leads me to believe that some people just don’t want to go through the required maintenance to harvest good compost. Some people are compost latrine people and some are not. Some fellow PCVs have noted this anecdotally already. The prevailing theory is to encourage pilot compost latrine projects and a serious vetting process to determine who will get a compost latrine.  The theory follows that, first there is just one community latrine and one family is allowed to use it at a time. The volunteer can note whether the family is using it properly or not. If the family is using it well, they are eligible to receive a latrine, but if not, they will not. This is a great strategy, because, as we’re seeing, some people just do not want to take the time to maintain the latrine and we should not be spending 4-5x the cost of a pit latrine, if what people actually want is a pit latrine.

Another thought is that instead of having “compost latrine projects” or “pit latrine projects” maybe it’s time to just have “latrine projects” and allow each family to chose which type of latrine will be best for them.  I like this idea for a few reasons:

1. They would actually have to think about it. And decide. Sometimes when foreigners come in and offer a potential new technology, people just want it because it’s free. It’s kind of like college kids and free pizza. Hopefully this would help reduce the number of people that want compost latrines just because they are free. Since they have to actually make a choice, hopefully they will more seriously consider both the advantages and disadvantages of both types of sanitation and have a more full understanding of each technology.
2. We might be making the health situation worse. Dessication (or the killing of pathogens by essentially drying them out) is probably the primary method of pathogen (dangerous bacteria) destruction in compost latrines. If people are not putting in dry material and then USING the compost or at the very least, removing the compost – which people have told me they do – then we have a huge problem. They are essentially handling only partially composted raw sewage, which is still very dangerous. This is both WORSE for the environment and for the public health of the community. The last thing we want to do is build latrines that worsen the public health of the community.
3. Safety. As opposed to the previous option mentioned, everyone would still be eligible to receive a latrine if they are interested in having one, and willing to at least attend the meetings and comply with the project. In some of these communities there are no existing latrines. I’ve heard stories of children being bitten by snakes while going out into the jungle to poo. Everyone should have a decent place to use the bathroom. Just because I, personally, think compost latrines are the sh*t (pun intended), doesn’t mean that everyone will, or should. We should respect personal sanitation preferences. As long as pit latrines are well-sited they won’t contaminate the water supply.

This plan is not perfect. This would require more logistical work and preparation on the part of the volunteer. It would also require a discussion with each family to help them decide what is best for them. People may also feel like it’s “unfair” that some families will receive more materials, because compost latrines require more materials than pit latrines, and complain that the project isn’t fair. Hopefully they are able to recognize that the decision was theirs and they have to stick to what they decided.

 

How Important is Education?

This blog has stressed the importance of the education component in sanitation-related development projects. Particularly with compost latrine projects, there is a fairly high level of maintenance that goes into proper usage. The users must maintain some type of dry, organic material available to be used for each time that someone uses the latrine. Additionally, once one side of the latrine fills, they must be sure to wait about a year before the compost will have digested the harmful bacteria and is safe to be used. It’s not all that much to ask, but just like peopled in the developed world, people in the Third World don’t exactly relish planning out how to manage their poo.

 

It is disheartening to see that so many people do not use their compost latrines properly. In this context, “properly” was defined as having a bag of dry material available and the contents inside the latrine box appeared to be dry, on a scale of 1 (very dry) to 5 (very wet), scored 3 or below. Additionally that there was low odor (scored 3 or below on a scale of 1-5), and presence of a dry material in the latrine box with the excrement.

 

Let’s take a look at the 8 communities I have visited so far:

 

Community	# Completed	# Completed in Use	# Properly Used	Used Properly of Completed In Use	Used Properly of Total Completed
Zimba	2	2	1	50%	50%
Rio Pavo	6	6	2	33%	33%
Nuevo Paraiso	7	6	1	17%	14%
Altos de Cristo	10	9	1	11%	10%
Puerto Lara	27	25	0	0%	0%
Embera Puru	14	14	9	64%	64%
Tamarindo	20	15	8	53%	40%
Quebrada Honda	12	10	5	50%	42%

 

Of all the compost latrines looked at in these 8 communities, there are about only 28% being used properly.

 

Now, why might that be? I want to start by looking at Puerto Lara, with a 0% proper usage rate. In the following table I also added the percentage of users that reported attending a training event on how to use and maintain the compost latrine.

 

Community	# Completed	Used Properly of Total Completed	% Attended Training
Zimba	2	50%	100%
Rio Pavo	6	33%	83%
Nuevo Paraiso	7	14%	43%
Altos de Cristo	10	10%	50%
Puerto Lara	27	0%	0%
Embera Puru	14	64%	79%
Tamarindo	20	40%	45%
Quebrada Honda	12	42%	67%

 

As you can see from this table, 0% of the users in Puerto Lara attended any type of training event. Furthermore, of the 27 users surveyed in Puerto Lara, 0 users had dry material in the latrine and 0 users knew that they should be using dry material.  This lack of any education left the latrines without a chance of being properly used.

 

Education is extremely important when trying to introduce this type of sanitation technology into a new area. Particularly since compost latrine management is not intuitive, if no one explains how they are meant to be used, it is unlikely the local population will be able to figure it out via ESP.

 

That being said, education is clearly not everything. One training event is unlikely to be sufficient to get across the importance of the maintenance, upkeep and health benefits of a compost latrine. As you can tell from this table, attendance at a training event did not necessarily translate into proper use of the latrine (though in the case of Puerto Lara lack of attendance did result in lack of proper use).

 

In a lot of these cases, often a member of the family will attend the event, but not necessarily relay all of the information to the rest of the family. Traditionally, the man of the house will be the one to attend the meeting, but the woman is probably potty training the kids. It is important when developing these projects to encourage the entire family to attend a training event, particularly the women.  Alternatively, house visits are likely to be even more effective because it creates a more personal atmosphere, the audience is more attentive and they have the opportunity to ask personal questions in a private space.

 

There are a number of other factors that could be affecting the way that people use and misuse their compost latrines, but I don’t want to give it all away just yet…

Monitoring and Evaluating

Composting latrine projects have been going on in Eastern Panama for over 10 years. There are 23 communities in the Darien and Comarca Embera- Wounaan that have been involved in compost latrine projects, funded by a variety of sources including: Peace Corps, Panamanian government agencies and NGOs.

 

The current project I’m working on is to assess these latrines and maintenance to see if this type of technology is being used and is effective. The study was developed by a researcher in Bocas del Toro, Tricia Wilbur. In collaboration with Ms. Wilbur, we will be able to produce a comprehensive national study on the success of these projects throughout different indigenous and latino groups in Panama. I will be interviewing the households of every compost latrine owner in each of these 23 communities as well as 6 other communities in the Azuero peninsula (provinces Herrera and Los Santos). Furthermore the study also aims to identify perceptions of Panamanians on using human waste as compost. Three communities will be chosen to interview every household (families that own compost latrines and that don’t own them) on perceptions of human waste as compost.

There are many advantages to using a composting latrine as opposed to other rural sanitation technologies, such as pit latrines and flush toilets:
1. Water conservation
2. Nutrient recycling
3. No smell, clean latrine if used properly (also true for flush toilets)
4. Reusable structure (lasts ~25 years)
5. Buildable in areas with a high water table
6. Buildable in population dense areas

Despite these practical advantages, there are many disadvantages as well:
1. High initial capital cost
2. High levels of maintenance and knowledge of proper use
3. Negative perceptions of using human waste as compost
4. Availability of carbonaceous dry material

It will be interesting to try to identify if some of these disadvantages are barriers to proper use and maintenance of compost latrines. I’m really excited to begin this project to see where this study leads us.

Investing in Health

Lajas Blancas is an Emberá community located in the Comarca Emberá-Wounaan, Cémaco, directly downstream of Alto Playon.  The population is about 600 people and 280 of those are children. There is currently no functioning water system. The Chucunaque River is used as a communal bathing area, laundromat, dish-washing station and source of drinking water (during the dry season).  Remember that this is the same river that Alto Playon uses as a latrine, just upstream of us. In Lajas Blancas it is illegal to use the river as a latrine and about 82% of the community has access to their own simple pit latrine.

How Far Will Your Donation Go?

The cost of each composting latrine, including materials, labor, and transport is $600.  The desire to improve their lives has motivated each family to contribute over 50% of the total cost through labor and materials.

Your 100% tax deductible donation to Alto Playon’s Expansion Project will go directly to purchasing the rest of the materials needed.  Each latrine requires 90 concrete blocks, 60 bags of gravel, 8 sacs of cement, 95 ft of rebar, and 3 sheets of zinc for the roof.

Here’s how far YOUR donation will go:

• $300 = Materials for 1 composting latrine!
• $200 = 60 concrete blocks, 40 bags of gravel, 5 sacs of cement, 63 ft of rebar, 2 zinc sheet
• $100 = 30 concrete blocks, 20 bags of gravel, 2 sacs of cement, 32 ft of rebar, 1 zinc sheet
• $50 = 15 concrete blocks, 10 bags of gravel, 1 sac of cement, 16 ft of rebar
• $25 = 7 concrete blocks, 5 bags of gravel, 1 sac of cement

But it doesn’t just stop there.  Your donation is improving the lives of the people living in Alto Playon in ways that go beyond a financial contribution.  A composting latrine means:

• Drastically reduces open defecation in the environment and river
• Less diarreaheal diseases
• More daily time for men, women, and children to devote to other tasks
• More nutritious and marketable agricultural products through the use of compost
• A sense of pride for each family who has invested in their time and effort.

Donate today and help us reach our funding goal of $5,347.00 to help 19 families build their own composting latrine!

19 Families Ready to Improve Their Lives!

Through the hard work of the people of Alto Playon and PCV Amber Naylor, the community is now seeking $5,347.00 to build 19 composting latrines.  These 19 families have followed the Sanication Process to participate in this project, and are contributing up to 50% of the cost of their latrine through materials and labor.

Support Alto Playon’s Expansion project by making a 100% tax deductible donation through the Peace Corps.

Welcome to Sanication

Welcome to Sanication.

I’m excited to launch this website and work with individuals, communities, and agencies who are committed to improving lives through education and appropriate sanitation.

Stay tuned, wash your hands, and welcome!