An Evaluation of the Use of Composting Latrines and the Perceptions of Excrement in Ngäbe Communities in Panama
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 5-8-2014 An Evaluation of the Use of Composting Latrines and the Perceptions of Excrement in Ngäbe Communities in Panama Patricia Anna Marie Wilbur University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Engineering Commons Scholar Commons Citation Wilbur, Patricia Anna Marie, "An Evaluation of the Use of Composting Latrines and the Perceptions of Excrement in Ngäbe Communities in Panama" (2014). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5331 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Evaluation of the Use of Composting Latrines and the Perceptions of Excrement in Ngäbe Communities in Panama by Patricia A. Wilbur A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering College of Engineering University of South Florida Major Professor: James R. Mihelcic, Ph.D. Roberta Baer, Ph.D. Qiong Zhang, Ph.D. Date of Approval: May 8, 2014 Keywords: ecological sanitation, double vault urine diverting latrine, indigenous community, Bocas del Toro, Ñö Kribu, Millennium Development Goals Copyright © 2014, Patricia A. Wilbur DEDICATION To Brad Akers, I dedicate this work to you. You bring joy and laughter to my everyday life. Over the past four years, your support has made all of my accomplishments possible. From Madagascar to Panama, you bridged the gap. Thank you for always understanding me, even when my words do not make sense. Here’s to never having to start sentences with “I should’ve…” Most importantly, here’s to our future together. To my family and friends, you have helped me succeed in high school, college, Peace Corps, and now graduate school. Mom and Dad, you instilled in me a love of learning, a desire to see the world, and a passion to serve others. Amanda, thank you for being supportive, always showing genuine interest, and brightening my day with photos. Ray, thank you for keeping me grounded (and for sending photos as well). To family and friends that visited, I am grateful for your encouragement and the ability to have shared this experience with you. Finally, to all my friends in the States and in Panama, thank you for the overwhelming support during my Peace Corps service. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my thesis committee: Dr. James R. Mihelcic, Dr. Roberta Baer, and Dr. Qiong Zhang. Thank you, Dr. Mihelcic, for giving me guidance, support, and the opportunity to be part of the Master’s International Program at USF. Thank you, Dr. Baer, for all your time and energy as you helped an engineer ask questions about attitudes and perceptions. Thank you, Dr. Zhang, for sharing your perspective in developing my thesis. To the people of Panama, thank you for your friendship and for sharing your culture with me. I especially thank the people of Valle Escondido, the community I called home for two years in Bocas del Toro. Additionally, thank you to each community that welcomed me as I trekked across Bocas del Toro and the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. Thank you to the Peace Corps Panama staff, especially the Environmental Health team. To my APCD, Antonella Finis, thank you for supporting my extension and research work. To all of the PCVs that housed and accompanied me along this journey, a huge thank you goes out you, especially Kim Woods, Austin Glenn, Louis Gram, Nelly Alcantar, Jordan and Sarah Varble, Carolyn Groves, Eric Rosenfield, Andrew Butler, Kathleen Peshek, Mike Matthews, Tessa Gellerson, Abby Bryant, Colleen Hickey, Brennan Keiser, Bob Jahnke, and Maggie Melcher. To my fellow USF MI PCVs, Sarah Hayman, Sarah Watson, and Ben Yoakum, thank you for your willingness to talk about poop and composting latrines throughout my Peace Corps service. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE 0965743. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ v ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................ 7 2.1 Sanitation ................................................................................................................ 8 2.1.1 Definition of Improved Sanitation................................................................. 8 2.1.2 Sanitation Paradigms in the Developing and Developed World ................... 9 2.1.2.1 Recycling Nutrients ...................................................................... 10 2.1.2.2 Water Conservation ...................................................................... 14 2.2 Panama.................................................................................................................. 14 2.2.1 General Information..................................................................................... 14 2.2.2 Disparity between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous.................................... 15 2.2.3 Ngäbes and Water, Sanitation, and Health .................................................. 17 2.3 Composting Latrines............................................................................................. 23 2.3.1 Design .......................................................................................................... 23 2.3.2 Mechanisms of Pathogen Destruction ......................................................... 25 2.3.3 Proper Operation and Maintenance ............................................................. 29 2.3.4 Advantages................................................................................................... 31 2.3.5 Disadvantages .............................................................................................. 34 2.3.6 Composting Latrines in Bocas del Toro ...................................................... 38 2.3.6.1 Previous Projects........................................................................... 38 2.3.6.2 Composting Latrine in Use Percentage......................................... 39 2.4 Social Sciences Aid in the Implementation of Appropriate Sanitation Technologies......................................................................................................... 40 2.4.1 Project Failure/Disregard for Public Health Argument ............................... 44 2.4.2 Social Marketing – Drivers and Barriers ..................................................... 47 2.4.3 Perceptions of Latrines/Latrine Selection.................................................... 51 2.4.4 Perceptions of Human Excreta and its Use as Fertilizer.............................. 58 2.5 Summary............................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 3: METHODS............................................................................................................ 68 3.1 Composting Latrine Use ....................................................................................... 68 3.1.1 Description of Communities........................................................................ 70 i 3.1.2 Interviews..................................................................................................... 73 3.1.3 Observations ................................................................................................ 75 3.2 Likes and Dislikes of Composting Latrines.......................................................... 76 3.2.1 Informal Interviews...................................................................................... 76 3.3 Perceptions of Feces and the Use of Composted Human Feces as a Soil Amendment........................................................................................................... 77 3.3.1 Description of Communities........................................................................ 77 3.3.1.1 Norteño ......................................................................................... 77 3.3.1.2 Filo Verde ..................................................................................... 78 3.3.1.3 San San Puente.............................................................................. 79 3.3.2 Surveys......................................................................................................... 79 3.3.3 Socio-demographic Information .................................................................. 83 3.3.4 Data Analysis..............................................................................................