Demand growing for sanitary dry latrines

Mennonite Central Committee
Friday, 9 March 2001

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia -- In Bolivia's rainy rural zones, sanitation is a serious concern. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is promoting what has become an exciting success story: the lowly, and rather dull-sounding, dry latrine. Also known as the "ecological" or "fertilizer-making" latrine, the dry latrine is a cleaner and safer alternative to the conventional pit latrine in rainy zones and areas with high water tables.

After 10 years of MCC promotion through one-at-a-time construction in volunteer homes and small community projects, demand for the latrines is snowballing. In May 1999, Bolivia's rural sanitation ministry, PROSABAR, invited MCC workers Nestor Pérez and Douglas Zehr to present the dry latrine at a conference with 30 other international development organizations. Impressed, PROSABAR agreed to fund dry latrines and contracted MCC to produce 385 for four communities north of Santa Cruz.

The number of latrines is now reaching into the thousands.

PROSABAR provides the $65 for labor and materials for a set of brick latrine compartments, and the community provides materials for the roof. Each family must construct its own latrine house on top of the compartments and provide eight hours of labor to help the mason with the brickwork.

To promote micro-enterprise, MCC recently handed over the manufacture of the components for the latrines to several neighbor families who work together fabricating the concrete parts on unused space on MCC's property in south Santa Cruz.

MCC continues to serve as a consultant in the projects. Perez, MCC appropriate technology coordinator, meets with community and city leaders, assesses projects and educates people about the dry latrine. He gets skeptical looks and strange questions. After all, it's not immediately apparent how a latrine that flushes with a handful of dry dirt or ashes might work to reduce the spread of parasites and infectious diseases.

During a recent ecological fair in Santa Cruz, a city official and friend expressed concern at the hole he thought Nestor was planning to dig in the beautifully-landscaped central plaza to exhibit the working latrine model he had promised. Fortunately, the latrine is entirely above ground - this to prevent harmful microorganisms from seeping into groundwater supplies - and no hole was needed.

Developed in the similarly humid and rainy climate of Vietnam, the latrine has a specially-designed concrete seat which separates the urine from the hazardous feces. The harmless urine is allowed to filter through the ground while the feces are maintained in a water-tight compartment above the ground. Toilet paper and dirt or ashes thrown in after each use, eliminating flies and odors and eventually killing the harmful microorganisms.

After six months, the feces are harmless and can be removed and used as fertilizer for grasses or fruit trees.

The dry latrine came to Bolivia by way of Central America, where it has also been promoted by MCC in several countries.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org