permaculture

[christopher nesbitt <christopher.nesbitt@mmrfbz.org>]

Michael,

We use a Vietnamese style double vault latrine with two stalls over  
each of two chambers. The chambers are next to each other, sharing a  
common wall, and have a 3 inches cement slab on top. They are roughly  
10x10x8 feet, and take two or three years to fill. The chambers are  
vented through the roof with a 4 inch pipe. The structure above the  
chambers is built with wood, two stalls over each vault, and from the  
thrones, one has an inspiring screened view into the agroforestry  
system. Bird watches love to sit there.

Like other double vault latrines, one chamber is filled at a time.  
After each deposit, a few handfuls of rice hulls or saw dust (and the  
occasional bucket of fresh grass and bamboo leaves) is dropped down  
the hole. This keeps the carbon/nitrogen ratio balanced.

The issue your are seeking to address, dealing with urine, we dealt  
with by deciding against a urine separator, and increasing the amount  
of rice hulls. Any urine separator will need to have a way to deal  
with the urine, too, and collecting it would not be culturally  
palatable here (mostly Kekchi and Mopan Maya communities, but also  
Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna and East Indian). Simply add more organic  
matter to help soak it up. This avoids the disposal/treatment issue of  
the urine. By charging the bottom with a permeable layer of soft wood  
branches (we used cecropia and bursera), you allow air to circulate,  
and a way for the moisture to evaporate a bit.

As long as there is enough rice hulls/sawdust/bamboo leaves, there is  
never much of a smell, even with the urine, and never a strong shit  
smell. Even when we have 40 people on site, the smell is minimal.

When one vault is filled, it is capped off, and the other is started.  
By the time the second vaul it filled, 2-3 years have elapsed and the  
first vaiult is composted and can be applied to gardens, ornamentals,  
etc. The hot composting kills any possible parasites or fecally  
transmitted diseases.

This design has been replicated in several local schools.

If you happen to end up in Belize, please come visit and see it. I  
keep meaning to post pictures of it on our website, but have not. A  
reminder to do so! I think somewhere in the FB group there is a photo  
of it http://www.facebook.com/group.php? 
v=photos&ref=ts&gid=34801950118 If not, write me off list and I can  
email a few.

Best wishes

Christopher

_____________________________
Christopher Nesbitt

Maya Mountain Research Farm
San Pedro Columbia, Toledo
PO 153 Punta Gorda Town, Toledo
BELIZE,
Central America

www.mmrfbz.org


On Nov 20, 2009, at 10:26 AM, michael judd wrote:

> Fellow Permaculturists,
>
> I have a compost toilet riddle that needs a little collective design  
> input in support of our brothers and sisters down in Nicaragua. As  
> part of two upcoming service and ecology trips Project Bona Fide is  
> heading up we are going to build a multi chambered compost toilet at  
> Mano Amiga community center on Ometepe Island.
>
> The outline of the toilet design is: two chambers for good 'ol #2  
> and an additional section as a urinal. Now, the latter is the crux  
> of the design challenge as manual collection is not an option nor is  
> an managed mix of #1 &#2. Thus the riddle..
>
> Hoping that some of you have come across or built unique solutions.
>
> Michael Judd
>
> Founder, Co-Director
>
> Project Bona Fide
>
> 240.344.5625
>
> http://www.projectbonafide.com/
>
>
>
>                                         
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