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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> Check out the Humanure Handbook!

This book is useful for the inexperienced.

The ideal outhouse is comfortable, commodious and commanding of a rising 
sun view. It is built on a side hill with an access door on the low side 
for removal of composted contents. It is a two-holer, with a diverter and 
separation wall between, so that one side is used while the other composts. 
Ideal composting conditions include ventilation, so the access door is 
screened in summer and there is a vent pipe extending from the contents 
area to well above the house. At Heartwood the vent pipe is eight-inch PVC 
and has bronze screen fastened tightly to the top. A good ventilation 
system not only facilitates composting but virtually eliminates odors.

And then there is my semi-old hippie friend whose Ozarks outhouse is his 
forested back yard. A shovel leaning against a tree and a roll of toilet 
paper in a capped can hooked to the tree. That's it. Each morning he digs a 
two-scoop hole, squats and does his business, then fills the hole with the 
fresh dirt and leaves. He has a mental map system so he remembers where he 
has been. He has been doing this for years. Wouldn't work in heavy frost 
areas. His trees are healthy.

I like the outhouse in appropriate weather, listening to the waking birds, 
watching the rising sun move shadows amongst the trees, reconnecting to the 
natural world. If it is raining or cold I prefer the indoor bucket toilet. 
Complete instructions are in my The Complete Guide to Country Living:
http://www.ruralize.com/CompleteGuide.html#7.%20Waste%20handling