Its amazing but two of our best friends here in Malawi are graduates of the University of Arizona also!! As if Cheri Blauwet were not proof enough that Arizona Wildcats are taking over the world... :)

Our good friends have been living in Malawi for about 20 years now working in health and water/sanitation issues. We were over at their house the other night for dinner and had a fascinating conversation about toilets that I wanted to share with everyone. Yes I said toilets... enough talk about computers and the internet for the moment... lets get serious for a moment folks and talk about toilets.

Improper treatment of waste is one of the major causes of disease and death in Malawi. Access to good sanitation systems is very limited and most people are expected to provide their own means of dealing with waste. Finding effective ecological sanitation solutions for people to manage their own waste is essential improving life and health in Malawi.

Our friend is working with a professor from the USA, Peter Morgan, on a project to bring his famous VIP Latrine design to Malawi. The VIP Latrine is simple modification of the traditional outhouses that appear all over Malawi. The only modification of the VIP Latrine is an improved ventilation/exhaust system carefully placed to capture increased amounts of wind and breezes passing around the latrine. The exhaust system on these latrines eliminates odors (no really, I am serious, it does) and at the same time reduces the fly population by factors of one hundred when compared to traditional latrines.

The other benefit of increased air circulation... fertilizer! At regular intervals the pits of the VIP Latrines are filled with a little bit of dirt and ash to aide decomposition of the waste. When waste pits are filled, the latrine is moved to another pit and the full one is sealed for one year to allow harmful bacteria to decompose. After a year the waste pit can be safely opened, harvested for fertilizer, then reused for waste disposal.

The fertilizer from these latrines is reported to be some of the most effective known to farmers. You'll have to read Peter Morgan's book for more, but if I remember correctly, Morgan's studies show that decomposed human waste as fertilizer was increasing crop yeilds by 4-5 times.

In any case if you want to find out more look for the book:
Ecological Sanitation: Rural Water Supplies and Sanitation
by Peter Morgan