I'm quite surprised people have noticed my blog posts. I was forced into posting pictures here as the Wiki software (used for the U316 EMA) wouldn't upload images directly from my computer.
The images are included in my EMA for U316 (which I can't include here) "Urine diverting dry toilets: are they safe and are they sustainable?"
I had originally intended to study the topic from a selfish point of view as I wish to build a UDDT for my own use. Once I started to research the subject I realised that I had tapped into a world of pain and suffering. 2.5 billion people on this planet have no improved sanitation. 1.6 billion men and women, girls and boys are forced to defecate in the open.
As much as I am interested in the beauty of nature all around us, these statistics staggered me, and I had no doubt that the subject of my EMA had found me.
I have some experience of poor sanitation having travelled through Nepal whilst suffering from dysentery - and I remember the horror of having to defecate in a field, watched by a bus full of people. To think that there are so many people who cannot escape this miserable practice day-in, day-out fills me with sadness and horror. To see the injustice makes my heart strain for humanity to take a different direction from the model of uneven consumption we have created for ourselves.
Comments
New comment
Hey Steve, What an interesting project for your EMA! Hope you do well! I did wonder about all these pictures you were posting without any descriptions. Are any of these pictures taken in India or is Bangladesh? Are you really going to make one? I'm quite interested, what are the costs of making and installing? Too many questions, sorry! I'm going to get one put in my grandparents' village if it's doableNew comment
I liked the way you sort of drip fed us the images and the data. It stimulated my interest and awareness, anyhow. It does sound like an interesting project.New comment
Hi Steve, so thats what your EMA subject is, mind boggling and interesting. Good luck with the final result. Its going to be a long wait until December
New comment
Salma - the costs depend on your choice of construction materials and labour to a large extent. The toilet needs to be high enough to accommodate a collection chamber beneath. There are alternative designs for the toilet device - to suit cultural practice. I have a lot of links which I will share on here as soon as I have completed the final essay for my ema. I will post them though. I think there is one case study with full costings for a toilet in Uganda. In the meantime here's a couple of links I have to hand that might interest you.
I think the pictures are a mixture of Indian and Bangladeshi - I'll post links to the actual websites as I now realise the links I've given only display the graphic online.
I've never been to Bangladesh, but my time in India and Nepal changed my outlook on life completely - so many people getting by with so little - but still able to find some happiness. I learnt that a smile and a laugh are the often the best forms of communication.
Sheena - I was in such a panic because I thought my ema was going to have to be submitted without pictures that I forgot that the blog might be viewed.
Thanks all for the encouraging comments - I don't think I could have predicted that this course would eventually lead me to this subject. I actually can't believe now that it wasn't discussed in the course materials.