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FROM THE FIELD

World Toilet Day Nov. 19: Arbor Loos Do Double Duty
14 Nov 2008 14:56:00 GMT
 Source: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - USA
Mayling Simpson-Hebert, CRS Regional Technical Advisor, East Africa

Website: Website: http://www.crs.org

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An arbor loo consists of a shallow pit, a basic concrete slab and simple fencing for privacy.
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An arbor loo consists of a shallow pit, a basic concrete slab and simple fencing for privacy.
Photo by CRS staff

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World Toilet Day is November 19. Although it may be hard for some to believe, almost 40 percent of the world's population has no access to a toilet. Imagine it: More than one out of every three people living on earth relieves themselves in the open.

Simple toilets can make a significant health impact. Many families, though, are either unable to afford proposed latrine designs or simply don't buy into the benefits. But one model, the "arbor loo," is making headway. Designed by Peter Morgan in Zimbabwe for the African situation, it is affordable for most rural African households.

Key to the arbor loo's success is how it serves double duty: first as a basic toilet, then as an extremely fertile pit for a fruit tree. The design provides a wealth of benefits:

- Arbor loo pits are just three feet deep, enabling anyone -- even the elderly -- to dig a latrine hole in half a day or less.

- Each concrete toilet slab costs $7 to $20 depending upon the country, and local masons can earn an income making them.

- People put a cup of ash and soil mixture into the pit after each latrine use to discourage flies, eliminate smells and promote soil composting.

- When an arbor loo pit fills up -- usually in a few months for a family of five -- families can easily dig a new pit, pick up the slab and relocate their latrine.

- The fertile soil of each filled pit serves as the perfect location to plant a fruit tree. Control tests show arbor loo trees rarely die off in early days and produce significantly more fruit than trees planted in regular soil.

- Families quickly reap household benefits. Diarrhea decreases, medical bills drop, and the amount of food on the table increases. Any excess fruit grown -- typically papayas, avocados, mangos, bananas or pumpkins -- can also be sold for added income.

- To grow more fruit more quickly, households soon require every member to always use the arbor loo, significantly improving sanitation conditions. Friends and neighbors without a toilet are even invited over to use the loo.

Since 2006, Catholic Relief Services has supported construction of more than 38,000 arbor loos in rural Ethiopian communities -- on average, more than 1,000 a month. Soon CRS will be piloting the design in Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Who would have ever thought that a toilet could also improve food security?


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Children attend the burial of eight-month old Alexandrine Kabitsebangumi, who died from cholera, in a banana grove at Kibati, north of Goma in eastern Congo, November 12, 2008. Packed into squalid ...


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