Compost toilet workshop

 

In August 2013 I ran a workshop in conjunction with Engineers without Borders (EWB) to build composting loos for the Small is Beautiful Festival, an event of talks, workshops and music centred around sustainablity, development and appropriate technology, set at Practical Action headquarters in Warwickshire.

In four days, with the help of course participants and volunteers, 6 toilets were built to a high standard.  The toilets were designed to be low cost, low embodied energy, long lasting and strong, and comfortable and spacious.  The design utilised pallets as a pref-fab unit to build with, along with slabwood, a by-product from timber yards.

The toilets also incorporate a urine separating system, to separate this high-nutrient resource and to allow for better composting of the solid matter.

All participants had the opportunity to learn lots of construction skills and a background in composting of waste, and skills were certainly put to the test.

See a page on the toilets on the festival website http://www.smallisfestival.org/what-s-on/the-loos/