The Arborloo book : how to make a simple pit toilet and grow trees or make humus for the garden

In rural Africa, a good toilet, together with a safe reliable water supply and the practice of good personal hygiene can do much to improve personal and family health and wellbeing. This booklet describes how to make a simple, low cost, affordable pit toilet, easy to build and to maintain and relatively free of odours and flies. Builders and artisans are not required, once the householder has learned the basic methods of construction.
The Arborloo, or walking latrine, is made up from 4 parts: 1) the pit, 2) the “ring beam” to protect the pit, 3) the concrete slab which sits on the ring beam, 4) the toilet house which surrounds the slab.
The Arborloo pit fills up with a mix of excreta, soil, wood ash and leaves. Leaves are put in the base of the pit before use and every day some soil and wood ash are added to the pit. When soil, ash and leaves are added to excreta, it changes quite fast into compost. The daily addition of soil and ash helps to control flies and smells. When the Arborloo pit is full, the toilet is moved to another place and a thick layer of soil and leaves is placed over the pit contents. A young tree is planted in this soil and is watered and cared for and also protected against animals. The toilet is used again in the same way in the new Arborloo site, where the same process takes place again.