Sanitation

People in many villages in India defecate outdoors.In densely populated villages, this not only pollutes drinking water sources but also people have to walk in early hours of the morning and late hours of the night for about 15 minutes to go to the outskirts for this purpose. This is especially hard for children and old people. In Buradapeta village of Srikakulam District, for example, everybody goes to the fields and after the job is done the men wash themselves in the canal.; Not a single family here has a latrine. In Tholapi some richer families have started installing toilets but they are costing Rs 10,000-15,000 and therefore are not catching on with others. Before starting the awareness campaign for sanitation in Srikakulam villages where the AID-GRASS collaboration is active, we visited the NGO Triveni Yuvajana Sangham in Rolugunta to look at the organic farming project supported by AID. Here village people are building very good toilets for Rs 1300. This is the model we are planning to replicate in Srikakulam.

Low Cost Toilets: How they are built?

Triveni contributes Rs 650 and the family building the toilet puts in Rs 650.With this they buy the required cement, ceramic toilet seat (about Rs 300-500), pipes and bricks as well as pay the mason who puts the bricks and cement or concrete.

The family identifies a spot for the toilet outside its house, in its yard, consulting its family members who go by their traditional knowledge and architecture practices (including Vastu- rules on what things are east facing or how they should be related which villagers themselves will tell us about).

At this location a 4.25 feet diameter, 5 feet deep hole is dug by the family members themselves.Usually two people work two days and do the job. Where the water table is lower and water drains fast even at greater depths, a 3 feet diameter, 10 feet deep hole is dug. Basically the depth is chosen so that there is drainage and things are above the water-table.

Once the hole is made a mason works 2 days to put the bricks all around the walls from the bottom of the hole to the top Cement is applied between the brick layers and small gaps are left between the bricks of the same layer. These gaps allow gases to escape to the earth. The floor of the hole is left uncemented, swept thoroughly, and no bricks are placed either. The water drains away from the floor and therefore there is no smell. A round concrete lid made by the mason on location is used to cover the hole (see picture below). Sometimes instead of the brick lining for the hole, people use concrete. In this case another pipe is put which rises about 8 feet above the ground and opens to the sky for gases to escape

Next to the hole the ceramic basin is put in a slight elevation after some flooring is done. A pipe or a closed brick and cement channel connects the basin to the hole before it is sealed with the lid.; Thus the toilet is complete in 4 days to the ground level and can be used. This costs Rs 1300. For privacy the toilet (ceramic basin) has to be  enclosed. This the village people themselves do using sticks, coconut or palm tree leaves etc (see picture). This doesn't cost anything. So the total cost of the toilet is Rs 1300.

Those who can afford may make a toilet room that has a brick and cement wall and roof. The cost then goes up to Rs 5000-8000 depending on the size

How long does it last?

.After about 10-15 years the hole fills up. Another hole is then dug by its side and the connection is given from the ceramic toilet basin to the new hole. Thus the toilet room/make-shift hay room is left untouched. At a convenient time the filled up hole is emptied since the stuff in it would have decayed into sweet smelling organic manure, repaired and reused when the new hole fills up.

Government Contributes?

Sometimes the government gives a small grant  to home-owners after they built a toilet. A photograph must be sent to them as evidence!

Even lower  Cost:

Swaniravar, an NGO in N. 24 Paraganas District, West Bengal has promoted toilets with a 1 m and 1m diameter unlined pit. A long folded tin sheet costing Rs 50 or so was used instead of the ceramic basin. Thus in a Rs 100 or so a toilet could be made. AID is currently reviewing a proposal for such toilets in the range of a few hundred  Rupees for the North eastern States through the NGO ; There are also designs of a self-composting low-cost toilet from Kerala.

No Cost Toilet:

Sometimes in village meetings or rallies like in the Narmada Satyagraha people make toilets about 10-15 meters away from the houses or meeting place by digging a 2-3 feet deep, 2 feet wide hole and putting strong sticks or bamboo across, on top of the hole so that they can hold a persons weight. There is a small gap left between the sticks. The place is enclosed using local material or plant stalks After a person defecates s/he puts two handfuls of mud in the hole from the pile that was dug out which is kept readily available. This keeps the flies out and the place hygienic. In a few months the hole gets filled  and it is covered up and a new hole is dug.