By Leslie Hawthorne Klingler

Although most of us consider latrines important facilities for communities without plumbing, many people in developing communities associate them with foul odors, swarms of flies, and embarrassing exposure. They would rather attend to their needs out in nature.

The unpopularity of latrines was a major concern raised by a group of 22 young hygiene and sanitation promoers from the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church participating in a five-day Lifewater sanitation training in Debra Zeit. The promoters explained that poorly constructed latrines have been built in many Ethiopian communities. Therefore, people think latrines bring nothing but filth, stench, and fly-infestation. One Ethiopian promoter told Lifewater trainers that “people want latrines hidden, out of the way. They consider them an embarrassment.”

In response to the Ethiopian promoters’ concerns, much of Lifewater’s training in Debra Zeit focused on promotion strategies that would increase the demand for good latrines. Lifewater trainers demonstrated simple methods of teaching communities about the benefits of well-constructed latrines, which include safety (women no longer need to go into the bush alone) and convenience (latrines are usually just steps from home). Lifewater trainers also introduced simple lessons that the promoters will be able use to teach about how latrines prevent disease transmission. In addition to these promotional activities, participants learned about groundwater protection, latrine pit sizing and lining, odor reduction, and communal latrine designs.

After mornings in the classroom, participants spent their afternoons designing and building two latrines that were healthful, affordable, and made solely of local materials. The participants worked in two groups, and by the end of the week they had completed two good pit latrines. The hands-on experience taught the participants that perfectly adequate latrines can be built quickly and affordably.

Lifewater Sanitation Coordinator Sam Moore, who served as one of the four Lifewater trainers conducting the session, felt that latrine education and promotion and technical construction skills were equally important components of the sanitation training in Ethiopia. Moore commented, “Our training in Ethiopia confirmed that, in addition to knowing how to build latrines, people on the ground need to be able to show communities that they are a good and necessary thing.”