Converting poop to fertilizer in rocky Perambalur villages

PERAMBALUR: Taking forward the Swachh Bharat Mission, Perambalur district has embarked on a move to construct eco-friendly urine diversion dehydration toilets (UDDT) in the rocky terrains of the district. Each UDDT unit will provide income to the householder in the form of fertilizer (urine and compost) worth 3,000 per year, promoters of the project say.
The district rural development agency (DRDA) is planning to launch the project in Esanai, Elamabalur and Kavulpalayam villages.DRDA, in support of SCOPE, an NGO, kicked off the project for building individual toilets in the areas where digging the ground is highly complicated. On Sunday, SCOPE provided training for masons on the construction of such toilets.
UDDT is built above the ground level using conventional bricks or hollow blocks. It has two chambers. The floor of the chamber is paved with concrete to prevent water or soil coming into contact with the faeces. Each chamber will be used for about 12 months alternatively.
"We have identified rocky terrains in our district as this type of toilets will be effective there. Besides ensuring hygiene, the project will produce fertilizers for agriculture fields," said district program coordinator for Swachh Bharat Mission in Perambalur M Rajaboopathy.
After defecation, the user has to apply ash over the faeces to prevent foul smell, dispel flies and to help quick dehydration of the faeces. The drop hole is then closed with a lid. The toilet is designed in such a way that faeces will go to the compost chamber, the urine to the urine bowl and the wash water into the wash bowl.
Urine will be taken out through a pipe to a mud pot with holes, buried outside the toilet. The wash water will go to a filter bed, by a pipe.
Care should be taken to ensure that urine or water do not enter the drop hole chamber. Water taps are not be provided and a small bucket for water and ash are kept inside the toilet. Faeces will be free of harmful E-coli and salmonella only after one year. Hence, the first compost chamber will be closed only after a year of use, when it is full.
On the second year, faeces will become free of harmful pathogens and compost can be taken out. The benefactors should closely monitor the facility for two years.
"Twin chamber UDDT is not just a toilet. It is an approach where human waste is returned to the earth to promote agriculture productivity and ensure food security. Human waste- urine faeces- contain rich nutrients. But conventional toilet models not only pollute the environment, but also waste the rich nutrients in human waste. Ecological sanitation helps us to reuse human waste in a most profitable and environmentally-friendly manner," M Subburaman of SCOPE added.