Latrine Design and Construction Making Culturally-Appropriate Latrines Second Edition April 2011 Lifewater International Lifewater International is a Christian nonprofit organization established in 1977 that demonstrates God’s love by helping communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America gain safe water, adequate sanitation, and effective hygiene practices that they will enjoy for generations. Focusing on sustainability, Lifewater and its qualified volunteer field trainers train and equip in-country partner organizations in the three crucial components of water development: water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Lifewater’s partner organizations then use the training and resources to help local communities meet their basic water and sanitation needs. Through this, both partners and local communities gain confidence in their ability to nurture the health and well-being of their people. Copyright This training material is developed by Lifewater International under the open content copyright provisions and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA. The terms of this license are Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike. This means that you are permitted to download, use, and redistribute this work non-commercially. Permission to build upon, remix, and translate can be provided by contacting Lifewater International. Any new creations and derivatives must credit Lifewater International, be non-commercial in nature and licensed under identical terms. Lifewater International and its directors, employees, contractors, and volunteers do not assume any responsibility for and make no warranty with respect to the results that may be obtained from the use of the information provided. All of our materials are designed for use as lessons for participatory learning. They are by their very nature better used within training sessions. To make the most of the information provided here, we recommend that you attend our course trainings. Access Lifewater’s training schedule and purchase hard copies of all our training materials on our website – www.lifewater.org. Lifewater International, April 2011 P.O. Box 3131 San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-3131 Toll-free phone: 888-543-3426 Web: www.lifewater.org ©2011 Lifewater International i Latrine Design and Construction Acknowledgements For their outstanding contributions to the sanitation program, Lifewater International would like to acknowledge Samuel Moore, Lon Stuebinger, Linda and Bart Bergquist. Many thanks to Andre Schmidt, Lois Andrews, and Jason Holland for the hours spent reviewing lessons and technical instructions. Finally, we must express gratitude to the countless volunteer field trainers who have combined their gifts and talents with these materials to make the program and living work of art. These saints have proven that a small group of people can indeed change the world ©2011 Lifewater International ii Latrine Design and Construction TABLE OF CONTENTS Facilitator Information ....................................................................................................... 1 Facilitation Tips .................................................................................................................. 3 Course Materials List .......................................................................................................... 4 Sample Latrine Design and Construction Schedule .......................................................... 5 Latrine Design and Construction Stateside Course Description ....................................... 7 Latrine Design and Construction International Course Description ................................ 8 Introductory Activities ....................................................................................................... 9 Self-Portraits .......................................................................................... 9 Identifying Expectations .......................................................................... 11 Community Group Information ................................................................. 13 Principles of Sanitation .................................................................................................... 14 A Clean Camp ....................................................................................... 14 Sanitation and Disease ............................................................................ 16 Sanitation Perceptions ............................................................................ 22 Latrine Types .................................................................................................................... 24 Pit Latrines ........................................................................................... 24 VIP Latrines .......................................................................................... 31 How Pit Latrines Work ............................................................................ 36 Pour Flush Latrines ................................................................................ 40 Composting Latrines ............................................................................... 45 Arborloo Latrine .................................................................................... 54 Latrines for People with Special Needs ....................................................... 59 Latrine Siting ..................................................................................................................... 68 Latrine Location .................................................................................... 68 Groundwater ........................................................................................ 72 Pathways – Latrine to Water Source .......................................................... 77 Soils and Drainage ................................................................................. 81 Latrines and Groundwater I ..................................................................... 86 Latrines and Groundwater II .................................................................... 92 Homework – I & II .................................................................................. 99 Latrine Design ................................................................................................................. 102 Field Visit Preparation .......................................................................... 102 Field Visit ........................................................................................... 105 Field Visit Debriefing ............................................................................ 107 ©2011 Lifewater International iii Latrine Design and Construction Designing Pit Latrines ........................................................................... 109 Latrine Design Project ........................................................................... 117 Planning .......................................................................................................................... 120 Planning for Implementation ................................................................. 120 Latrine Construction ....................................................................................................... 124 Concrete Terminology .......................................................................... 125 Concrete Slab Construction .................................................................... 126 SanPlat Construction ............................................................................ 151 Domed Slab Construction ...................................................................... 157 Concrete Ring Beam Construction ........................................................... 165 Mud and Wood Slab Construction ........................................................... 170 Pit Lining Instructions ........................................................................... 174 Basic Structure Construction .................................................................. 183 Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 185 Operation and Maintenance .................................................................. 185 Basic ................................................................................................. 193 Pit Design ................................................................................................................ 193 Structure Design ..................................................................................................... 194 Basic Pit Latrine ...................................................................................................... 205 Ventilated Improved Pit Latrine ............................................................................ 209 Arborloo Latrine ..................................................................................................... 212 Advanced .......................................................................................... 215 Twin Pit Ventilated Latrine .................................................................................... 215 Pour Flush Latrine ..................................................................................................