[Gaviotas] Composting toilets in developing countries

[Dave Johnson]

I never actually built one but I did do a bit of research on them. I was 
working in a low lying slum of Asuncion Paraguay. They didn't seem to be 
practical in an urban area. Any design that I found would have cost more and 
been grander than the shacks the people who were to use them lived in. As 
urban people, they had no use for or interest in compost. Finally the sewage 
treatment facilities for the city consisted of 7, 14 inch pipes that 
discharged untreated sewage directly into the River Paraguay. It didn't seem 
to be fair to hold the slum dwellers to a higher standard than the city as a 
whole. The guy who was in charge of sewage for the city said that dumping it 
raw into the river caused no problems and he felt they could continue to do 
so for another 25 years so, there you have it. So, we confined ourselves to 
getting it out of the school yards into the streets, out of the streets into 
the arroyos and from there, ideally into the river. Nothing to be proud of 
but, we did the best we could. Dave Johnson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <info at wncgbc.org>
To: "Discussion relating to Gaviotas village in Colombia, their 
technologies, philosophy, etc" <gaviotas at greenbuilder.com>; "Katherine Holt" 
<katherine at peakinsight.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 1:38 PM
Subject: [Gaviotas] Composting toilets in developing countries


> So you all seem to be extremely knowledgable, passionate and active in 
> sustainable development in developing countries so I thought someone 
> might be able to help.
>
> I am doing research for a non-profit working in a very desolate slum  area 
> of Lima, Peru The entire area does not have proper sewerage and the
> person running the project is interested in self-composting toilets for 
> both
> children and adults. Do you know anyone who works with these, knows how to
> build them, operate them, have plans for them etc.?
>
> Muchas Gracias
>
> Matt Siegel
> Green Building Director
> Western North Carolina Green Building Council
> PO Box 17026
> Asheville, NC 28816
> 828-254-1995
> matt at wncgbc.org
>
>
> We encourage you to VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WNCGBC.ORG and BECOME A 
> MEMBER to
> HELP SUPPORT our work to create a more sustainable Western North Carolina.
>
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