humanure and compost toilets

http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html seems to be the entire humanure handbook online

http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/messages/

a forum to discuss composting your own human manure and urine , do you compost your manure or do you feel bad about the whole idea , do you think its dangerous or better than using water and lots of energy and sewage treatment works

generally what are your views

 

i dont know my views yet. i think the whole idea is pretty awesome. i am a future organic farmer, so this is very interesting to me.

last night i ordered both "liquid gold" and "the humanure handbook" from amazon.com

im really excited to read them!

 

ALot of human waste is processed so far then is spread over agriculture land used for the feed of animals we eat.


I have a buddy that built and uses his own composting toilet. He uses the 3 bin system, center bin for the sawdust, 1 bin you fill, the other bin you fill while the first cooks down, then when the last bin is full he transfers the humas to a delay garden (last years garden that he lets it rest a season) then the next year he grows stuff in it just fine.

 

only challenge in the states for using human waste is that if you are going to publicly sell edible products from such fertilized soil (even including second hand - ie cattle for meat eating grass so fertilized), the waste must have been taken to sifficiently high temperatures (pasturized - so to speak ) to kill bacteria - and such must be provable and documented.

 

Yes very correct although seems some vegi's and beef have slipped thru the cracks in the commercial markets. Remember Jack in the Box's new sloggin "We're cooking the shit out of our burgers"

 

That's true, I always wondered about wether or not Joseph Jenkins had sold his humanure or not. Acording to his book, the thermophilic micro organisms that are produced when you have the right mixture (human waiste, kitchen scraps, organic matter), create high enough temperatures to break down everything, including harmful bacteria. I guess if you had a log and a long compost thermometer, you could record and prove that your pile was at adequate temps throughout. I'm not sure that would be enough for some folks though, enough to make it a legal thing that is. He also suggests that you can leave the compost to cook for three years so that all possibility of anything surviving would be gone.

I have been using this method by the book for over a year now. Our problem is that we have a very small plot of land, and haven't been able to find a place to grow a garden. I'm not sure we have enough space to put our compost if we keep on with this. We are on our second bin. So, we are trying an incinolet with a rocky start.

 

raised garden plot
small and then larger greenhouse (mostly clear plastic roll - be sure it's greenhouse plastic as construction plastic outgasses are not friendly to plants)
even indoors in some suncatching space - the plants will bless you more than the trials and the work to provide them a space to work rheir magic....... O and plant some aloe for nicks and scratches and burns - even deep scary traumas - open the leaf longitudinally and compress onto bad wounds - including those cause by venemous snake and scorpion.
There are plant devas everywhere and invited they will help and make beautiful for even the most fumbling green thumb.

Blessings

Namaste

 

It just reminds me of a story my grandad told me..

He went to Egypt years ago, where they always used human waste as fertiliser. Trouble was, they had some illness, which my grandad then got when he ate the food..

 

I think that it's a really excellent idea, thanks for posting the links. To be honest I don't know a whole lot about it but it's good to see this much info...

 

In the book, he talks about the difference between using human waste, and using humanure, to fertilize soil for growing food and such.

Straight human waiste was called night soil, and was collected in buckets throughout the day, and picked up by trucks, similar to garbage. Then it was transported to the field and directly spread over the soil. This was responsible for many diseases during that time.

Humanure is no longer human waiste after it goes through the composting process. The finished result is a substance called hummus. It's a nutrient rich, soil like substance. In the book, there's a picture of Joseph Jenkins' wife holding two handfuls of the stuff with her bare hands. They have used it for over 20 years for their food gardens and no one in their family has ever gotten sick from it.

 

I am interested in cob homes, and composting toilets built in an out-house fashion out of cob. One delima that comes to mind, is that an out house will be really cold in the winter. Oh well, I do admire the American Indian's primitive way of life that was lived before they lost their freedom. I do imagine that they pooped and peed in quite cold temperatures. I could put up with it, but I will I find a female companion that feels the same way? Finding others that feel the same way that I do is basically my only delima.

As an after thought, a plastic bucket (certainly not primitive, sadly) can be used inside of the home. The buckets have covers and can hold sawdust. After 1 or more uses, the bucket can be caried outside and dumped in a manure pile. A bucket can also be kept inside without sawdust for pee.

 

That's probably one of the best things to do. You can build a 'toilet box' to make it easier for her and you. Basically a square box with a toilet seat over the bucket. Makes it more stable to use.

Be sure to read up on constructing an out-house. There's a great article in "How to Build Your Dream Cabin" The author has an out-house that has been being used for many years.

 

We've done it for two years (it was actually my idea). There are girls out there that are all for it.

 

Thanks girls for the advice and encouragement. I'm still having trouble meeting a woman that is interested in simple natural living, and single.

 

Hey that just makes for no waiting in the winter. We use an out house all year up here. The trick is the blue insulating foam board for the seat. While it's not exactly a natural thing, it warms up on contact with one tushy and is quite fine even at 40 below. R&N come up to Alaska and you can find women who are interested in natural living. Plenty of young single UAF students living in little cabins outside of Fairbanks.

 

Freeinalaska, thanks for that tip about the natural women up there. I'll keep that in mind. Being from the gulf coast, I don't know if I could handle the cold up there though.

 

R&N, Mind you Alaska isn't really known for it's over abundance of women, but certain areas of out lying Fairbanks there is a big crowd of them that are willing to get their hands dirty and live in the sticks.

 

i am assuming you plan to but glass windows in your house....those are not primitive either.....but if you "harvest" your bucket from a dumpster then you are helping the enviroment .......same goes with the glass windows...

and brother there are lots of women out there who will be interested .....you just need to look in the right places .....lol...surprising hip is one of them...i met my girlfriend while chatting on hip about yurts ...we were 3000 miles apart, we met in person at the colorado gathering .... she came back to oregon with me and now 9 months later we are still together...

 

Purple-moss, thanks for the encouragement about being able to meet a woman that is interested in living lightly on the earth.

Yes, I agree with you that it would be best to use second hand items, or items that were thrown away by others. I must admit that I sometimes debate what is truly sustainable. Yes, passive solar, active solar, and other technologies are much more earth friendly, but are those technologies sustainable for meliniums out into the future. I say no. Living in a warm climate that has an abundance of fruits and vegetables growing wild is the best habitat for man. One could live clothing free, and need no tools. Yes, living as a gatherer is the absolute simplest.

Ah, I'm getting off track a bit, but I do like the idea of a composting out-house as oposed to buying one that is manufactured and shipped to me.

 

its not the technology that is the problem ...its the SOCIETY and how it uses the technology, until we change that no tecnology will save the planet.