Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranger
OK, I see, it's not really like the old out houses as it actually composts the solids, a camp we went to when I was a kid had an outhouse as a little kid it was nasty, but usable. You mentioned a "sawdust" toilet, do you add sawdust or wood shavings and ground limestone ? Will there be any storm shutters inside or out on the palapa ? How close is the nearest neighbor ? Will you be able to grow any vegetables or will all food need to be bought ?
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The dirty details-
A bench is built with a hole and toilet seat. The height is set so that the seat rests on the upper edge of a 5 gallon bucket. We are putting 13 gallon biodegradable bags (starch polymer) in the bucket and they extend down the sides of the bucket remaining clean since the seat rests tightly on the top of the bucket. A scoop of sawdust goes in the bottom to start. Big bags of sawdust are available in town at the carpenter shops for about a buck for about 75 lbs. You poop, (pee is ok if you have to) and then cover with a layer of sawdust. Our experience is that as long as the stuff is completely covered there is little or no smell. When the bag is about 3/4 full I lift the toilet seat and take the bucket out by the handle to our compost pile, place my hands on the outside of the bucket on both sides, between the bag and bucket and slide the bag upward. Twist the top off and tie in a knot and place in the sunny compost pile. Sealed bags in the sun heat up tremendously inside, likely killing all microbes, but from what I have read composting will do the same in a few months to a year. We will be placing vegetable debris as well in the pile as we have it. Composting the waste should be a real benefit as dirt/ soil is in short supply. Most places on our lot when you dig you hit rock pretty quickly.
Urine will be collected separately, probably with a toilet seat with a tight fitting huge funnel that connects to a hose that runs outside to a sealed collecting tank. My understanding is that urine is sterile and can simply be used as a fertilizer on our gardens.
We've been using a composting system like this on our trips down and it has worked well. There is alot of info online on sawdust toilets. Adding the biodegradable bag was my improvement on what I'd read. Part of why I went with the bucket method is I don't want to deal with a big batch of sh*t that goes sour in a large system- imagine having to deal with a few hundred pounds that had gone sour. I believe in the keep it simple stupid (KISS) approach. A good information source on all of this is available on line if you do a search for the Humanure Handbook.
I don't think we'll be building storm shutters but instead will go with the "let it blow through" approach to hurricanes. Our friend Lynn's palapa went through Wilma (a cat 5 direct hit) this way with little damage. Regular storms haven't been a problem with getting water inside, as the overhang of the roof is quite large.
Currently our closest neighbor Walter, a Mexican/Mayan fellow is about a hundred yards down the road. Wonderful fellow- believe his picture is in here. He gives me little mayan language lessons when I run into him on the path to the park ie. "Ni cah uk caposeech" - I'm going to drink coffee (at Lynn's). He's also taught me some local plants and their uses.
We most certainly will grow vegetables, fruit and flowers, although produce tends to be cheap. For sure I want to grow fresh herbs. I'll plant tomatoes, peppers, perhaps lettuce and herbs when we get there, 1st thing. Won't use the compost on the veggies but will use it on fruit trees. I grow most of our summer produce here in Maryland at a community plot. Just picked my first nectarines last week.