[Assam] [WaterWatch] Nobel Peace Prize for re-inventing toilet!

[mc mahant]

I love your plain talk Dhruva.YOU should be nominated for this Nobel.You richly deserve that.
We can propagate the concept of this good work of giving everything back to the soil from primary scool days through illustated sequence   Shit>wash>cover and help the dung beetle to do the rest. Carry a small shovel along with your bottle. Flower beds in middle-class suburbia should be all about that.Architects/Builders must build-in these facilities with  POSH new developments.Maybe a portable shield+a shovel readily available in the flower garden. All possible and good!
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To: WaterWatch at yahoogroups.comFrom: dhrugeese at gmail.comDate: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 11:37:45 +0530Subject: Re: [WaterWatch] Nobel Peace Prize for re-inventing toilet!




I think this International Toilet Summit is total ... crap! They're only complicating matters by incinerating shit etc. when we already have an energy crisis. One of the fundamental problems is the attitude that human shit is 'waste'.       Composting is one very good solution. No need for fans and lights and incinerators and bells and whistles. And it converts 'waste' to wealth.       Of course most people who shit in the open are basically aiding this process. They are also probably aware of it till they get 'educated'. But there are a few minor problems where the ecology is poor, such as disease and stink.       In a study conducted in some villages near where I live (Vellore District, Tamil Nadu), inhabitants who shat in the open, with no water supply, were safe from a recent cholera epidemic. Those with water supply got cholera. And the first person to get cholera had got it during a visit  to the town!       In forests, a whole ecosystem develops around one's shit and it's thoroughly mixed with earth within a day. You can shit in the open, in virtually the same spot every day and not cause disease or anything of the sort. In other places there are some risks, such as hookworm, cholera and the like. Microorganisms take care of pathogens quite well. But 'sanitation' mostly has caused more problems than it has solved. There's a lovely and very funny must-read book : it's called the "Humanure Handbook" by Joseph Jenkins. It discusses compost toilets (100% dry except for washing one's ass, which is done elsewhere) - why, what, how, results of the author's experiments, different designs etc. It even contains ideas for building compost toilets in urban settings such as apartment complexes, etc. Apparently, it even renders diseased shit harmless, thanks to the high temperature brought about by the thermophilic bacteria. IMO, the author (Jenkins) deserves 20 Nobel prizes, though I don't think he'd know what to do with the money. The book is available online at: http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html Please read and enjoy!Dhruva.PS. There is an architect couple in Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu, who have incorporated a compost toilet into their lovely eco-friendly house. This shit really works.-- The three most difficult things for a human being:Returning love for hate;Including the excluded; Admitting that you are wrong. __._,_.___ 
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