courtesy of James Chen
our trip will serve both as an assessment trip for the possible installation of roof water-catchment systems and as a pilot phase for our sanitation latrine construction project. For the pilot phase, we will be constructing three (possibly four, depending on the amount of funding that we acquire) composting latrines within the community of San Sebastian and along the outskirts of Las Brenas. All designs will be double-vault composting latrines of relatively similar size. Design #1 will be a simple, minimal cost design that is similar to the nearby composting latrines in the Kukra River Region. The main difference, however, lies in having a wooden staircase as opposed to cement.
The second design will be built partially in ground, utilizing the structural support provided by the earth in order to maximize the given volume. This latrine will have a cement staircase with a cement slab along one of the steps that can open up and serve as an opening for weekly stirring of the mixture as well as the annual removal of the compost. Such a design will essentially eliminate the issue of fecal contamination around the toilet seat area that could pose a potential problem during the typical practice of stirring through the toilet hole. This model will also be equipped with a zinc superstructure, which isn’t as widespread of a material choice as wood, however it has been used with a few of the latrines in the region.
The third design will implement an added section in the back that, again, seeks to maximize the volume below the latrine while still seeking to maintain both cost and effectiveness in the composting process. The area will have a slanted top face that contains a metal door which can open and close to allow for easy stirring and removal of fecal matter. The choice of metal is an attempt to speed up the anaerobic breakdown of the fecal matter through heating while also serving as a structurally robust moving component in our design. The staircase for this design will be wooden. This design will be constructed for one of our larger selected families that live on the outskirts of Las Brenas.
The potential fourth design will be quite similar to that of the third design with the exception of a more permanent, cement staircase and an additional ventilation system via PVC piping. Such a feature has the potential for helping to facilitate the anaerobic process within the fecal matter as well as reducing the instances of flies and negative odors. Ideally, this design will be constructed for the new schoolhouse that is to be constructed in San Sebastian (via financial support from the Catholic Church). Since such construction is still underway, this design is likewise still up in the air. During the assessment trip, we were assured by one of the teachers at the preexisting school that there would be members of the community that would be willing to take on the task of compost upkeep and removal, as ownership of a latrine in such an environment is quite different than with families.
