Today I can breathe easy, the puppy is making great progress and he is now officially a part of our family. On top of that I was able to upload some photos, so this is the perfect moment to share my progress on the Compost Toilet build.
If you can remember, I had already dug away a ton of earth, and assisted in the build of a platform, with my wonderful friend B. You can see the progress up until this point, in this post. Then the rains arrived and everything was put on hold. In the meanwhile I had to source some pallets, which we could use for the structure of the toilet itself.
I managed to acquire 5 pallets with the help of the land owner and the first job was to attach them to the base, using heavy duty screws. This was done quickly and it was great to see how quickly the build took shape, by erecting them.
Once that was done it was time to cut two holes in the floor, for the toilet. Only one side will be used at a time, so that when that side fills up, we can move to the other and allow the waste to compost. Which happens quite quickly, in this climate.
With that done, we focused on extending the structure. All the wood we used is recycled wood, bits that I had and also some that was donated. I want a slanted roof, so the front is a few inches taller.
Then my friend B, made a cover for the side that will not be in use, from the wood we cut out. We screwed it shut, as it is really important that anyone who uses it, knows that only one side is to be used. I imagine, that i will make a sign to put inside, just in case.
I am perfectly fine with squatting and it is actually the best way in which to empty your bowels. But some folk are not so keen, so we made a box to sit over it, which can be easily moved. I screwed some left over bits of wood each side, to make sure it doesn't move when someone is using it.
The plan is to wrap the bottom half in bamboo, so we then focused on the top and luckily I had enough bits of random wood, to cover it all. We were both unsure how much we would get done on the day, as rain was forecast for the afternoon. I think we were both well impressed that we got it finished in around 3 hours.
The roof still needs to be put on, I am torn between having a green roof, or just using plastic and bamboo, which would let the light in. Which is something I quite like the idea of, but using plastic is not really the best thing. But it is easy to get second hand plastic from some of the industrially greenhouses down the coast, which would otherwise end up in the bin.
But that didn't stop my friend D and me, from pimping it up a bit. Since then, the rains returned, along with strong Sahara sand dust storms, so once again everything has been put on hold. Plus I have been very preoccupied with Rusty. But now, that I know he is recovering and that he gets to live out his days with us, I can get the job finished at last.
