“The world is divided into two categories of people: those who shit in their drinking water supplies and those who don’t.”
– Joseph Jenkins, from: The Humanure Handbook
I completely agree, when people make statements like: “We do not have a symbiotic relationship with the earth anymore; or, we live wasteful lifestyles.” And when people start throwing calculations around of how much water a day one person flushes down the loo, I cringe. I also enthusiastically nod, when Joseph Jenkins talks about how we refer to human excrement as waste, instead of seeing it as a resource, as in his book, The Humanure Handbook. Often, the way we deal with this part of life, not only pollutes the environment in general, but our drinking water, in particular.
Having grown up on a farm, with a limited water supply, I learned early on that water is precious. For the first seven years of my life, we lived in a house with no indoor toilet. Long drops and composting toilets come in all shapes and sizes, as I’ve learned through my travels. It was, therefore, with a mix of enthusiasm, and trepidation that I picked up the above mentioned book. I love his candid style in which he mixes facts with practical advice. And for a moment there, I almost insisted on a composting toilet. But I just can’t. For short periods of time, no problem. For ever, big problem.
And so, we are planning a normal bathroom for our tiny house. With a flushing loo. And a septic tank. Located where we cannot pollute our drinking water. Conscious of our impact on our immediate environment.
In the meantime, while we save up for that indoor bathroom, we have to make do with a temporary solution. One that worked rather well, and from which we learned a lot. Correction. Michael learned a lot, as he was the one, who had to deal with the content of the blue bucket at the end of our visit in July. Next time, it will be lined with a biodegradable plastic bag, for starters.
For our shower, the nozzle of a broken Gardena spray gun was re-purposed into a very effective shower head. Connected directly to our well with a tap, a bend or two, and a 100 m long black plastic pipe, it gave us water at exactly the right temperature for a beautiful hot shower at the end of the day. It took some experimenting, and curving the pipe away from shady spots and into full sun, to know that the best time for taking a shower, was either around 10 in the morning, or 6 in the evening. At any other time, the water was either too hot, or too cold.
Situated away from the house, we got a fair amount of excercise, and although I am a keen hiker, I did eventually, towards the end of our stay, blurt: “I cannot wait to get back home to take four steps in the morning to a flushing loo, and hot shower on demand!” Gathering everything we needed, we had to walk about a hundred metres to the well to start the pump, another about eighty metres to the ‘bathroom’, then back to switch the pump off, and only then, back to the house. Not exactly what I would call fun, after a day that was already filled with various physical tasks, straining my limits. That said, I do love an outside shower, but would much prefer it to be attached to my indoor bathroom.
Having visited during the cold, wet month of April, we early on realized that our next trip will most probably fall, when the weather isn’t sunny and warm. And so Michael set out to build a temporary shower inside the barn. Drilling through those thick stone walls in the middle of summer, was no walk in the park, but he persisted, and now we have a very functional, if basic, hot-water shower. We are in full agreement with our architect, who said, “A hot shower, like a cup of coffee in the morning, is non-negotiable.”
For the time being, we will have to continue dreaming about that final cozy bathroom inside the house, because there are other priorities on our “what next” list that take preference. Like a borehole to drill, a kitchen to install, flooring to think of, and getting electricity inside the house. It is a flexible list, though. Have I mentioned we also dream of a tractor? I digress. The point is that, what we consider to be our most urgent needs, constantly fluctuates. In the meantime, we are squirreling money away for whatever comes next.
Written by: Jolandi
July visit 2018
I always forget whose blog this is (since I associate you with your other one), and as I was reading, I was marveling at what a tough person was dealing with all the inconveniences of this temporary bathroom. At the end, I broke into a huge smile, seeing that it was you! Excellent ingenuity and a fun tale of new house ownership and renovation. I spent some time using a composting toilet in Ecuador, and I was amazed at how not-horribly-unpleasant it was. But once spoiled by an indoor, fully functional bathroom, it is painfully hard to imagine doing without one long-term – sounds like you agree, so hopefully that project will stay at least most of the way up your list of priorities! (P.S. I adore outdoor showers, too – as an add-on!)
I am so glad that you are getting a glimpse of another side of me through this blog, Lexie. 🙂 This is such a different adventure for my husband and I. We were also amazed at the “not-horribly-unpleasant” experience of composting toilets, especially the ones in our favourite guest house on Kenya’s Lamu Island, Subira House. So different from what one would imagine it to be. We had long debates and conversations regarding this, so it was no easy decision to rather go with the more conventional. We really want to have a lighter footprint on the world, and our conversations these days circle around different ways of getting it right. What complicates things is that we also need to meet certain requirements in order to be issued a habitation licence, but more about that in a later post.
– Jolandi
ingenious husband you have Jolandi and at the same time these daily rituals are so fundamental that we dont actually need plush anything. However do recall dirty feet in India and wanting a warm shower to clean at the ashram. Enjoy the experience of living close to nature and ones true self . lots of love x
Thank you, Nanette. There is nothing more enjoyable than a hot shower, after a day of hard physical labour, no matter how basic. The joys of life come in many different shapes and sizes. 🙂
Goodness me. My heart goes out to you guys with these basic struggles. As someone who does not really enjoy camping I am relieved that right this minute I do not have to worry about toilets, showers and warm water. O root for indoor plumbing and all the wonders and comfort that goes with that.
I am not a big fan of camping either, but I guess, because this is temporary, and we only visit for a week or two at a time at the moment, I can cope with it. That said, I am certainly looking forward to the day the interior of the house is done, and we have indoor plumbing.
Oh I am so relieved this morning that we do not have to struggle with indoor plumbing and long drops or having clean water. It is still warm enough for us to go swim in the neighborhood pool, Yay! Still the images and words that accompany this post shows growth and creative potential unlimited.
Oh, the things we often take for granted! Glad to hear you can still make use of the neighbourhood swimming pool, Corlia. I must say that I far prefer summer, although, after having lived in the UAE for so long, I do long to once again experience the magic of four seasons. Just not without my fully functioning indoor bathroom. 😉
Hello Jolandi 🙂
Thank you for sharing this latest update. Ah yes, the simple (modern) joys that are often taken for granted! I admire you & your husband’s bravery and creativity to come up with solutions – much respect! (And thank you for sharing your email address with me the other day. I will email you soon!)
Best wishes always,
Takami
Thank you so much, Takami. Need makes one come up with many clever plans. 🙂 Looking forward to hearing from you.
I somehow missed this post, Jolandi. I have done a lot of camping in my life and know I can cope with bathing using a small bowl of water and I have used chemical toilets, long drops and composting ones. Here at home we have flushing toilets, hot water for showers and an electric powered sewage treatment tank. I prefer the luxury of a decent bathroom and good plumbing! We have the tank emptied once or twice a year and we know that what is taken away is dealt with properly. When we have to have it replaced we will no doubt consider having either a composting toilet installed or another sewage treatment tank. I think I would prefer not to have to rely on electricity but it is extremely efficient.
I always marvel at how we, as humans, can adapt to our environment and circumstances, Clare. Yet, no matter how I love the idea of composting toilets, I really really really want a flushing one! 🙂 And like you, I prefer the luxury of good plumbing.