Arborloo
An Arborloo is a simple and ecological type of dry toilet consisting of a:
- Pit (like a pit latrine)
- Concrete slab
- Superstructure (toilet house) to provide privacy
- Ring beam to protect the pit (optional)
The concept of the arborloo toilet is to collect feces in a pit, and subsequently to grow a tree such as a fruiting tree in this very fertile soil.
The arborloo works by temporarily putting the slab and superstructure above a shallow pit while this pit fills. When the pit is nearly full (3/4), the superstructure and slab is moved to a newly dug pit and the old pit is covered with the earth got by digging the new pit and left to compost. The old site uses a bed for fruit tree or other, which is preferably planted during the rainy season.[1]
The arborloo can be considered a simple form of composting toilet. In using the nutrient-rich soil of a retired pit, the arborloo in effect treats feces as a resource rather than a waste product. In this the arborloo both addresses issues with sanitation and provides increased crop output.
Design
The defecation pit may be circular or square and this may depend on the slab and superstructe. A circular pit is less likely to collapse.[2] The pit of the arborloo is shallow (between 1-1.5 meter).[3]
If the pit is dug by hand it must have a diameter of at least 0.9 meters to accommodate effective digging.[4] The pit should not be wider than the slab and must allow for 0.1 meter bearing around the edge.[4]
See also
- Ecological sanitation
- Reuse of excreta
- treebog, another version
- humanure, fertiliser from feces
References
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