Latrines the forgotten frontier

I met a man from Colorado who was visiting another ministry in Jinotega. He wanted to see some crops growing so we went to visit our plot of beans. He gave me a small package of a product called Nurtishield, from a company named Soruba. He told me this product was full of bacteria that will help the plant process nitrogen and carbon from the soil. I thanked him for the product and assured him we will try it in our next planting cycle. 

He traveled back to Colorado, and then sent an email introducing me to the rest of the Soruba team. We had a few video calls and they told us about a latrine toilet treatment they are developing too. They have not been able to test it to full scale in the United States because latrines, are not used anymore in the USA, except for a few campgrounds. They asked if we would be interested in helping them test and study the product here in Nicaragua. The latrine product will reduce odors, organic waste mass and also help reduce or eliminate pathogens and parasites. It does this all with a natural bacteria and enzymes, no chemicals! Jari would be leading this project, since she has been getting into community healthcare. I asked if they would give us a few days to pray and consider the work load. Working on pit toilets is not something you rush into! 

typical latrines in el Carril

We decided to take on the study project and put together a team to help. We asked people form our local church to help us, two were ready to help and also the pastor wanted to join us! Once we had the team ready to go, Chris from Soruba flew down to join us in the project. 

We traveled to a community called el Carril. We chose this area because it is rural, full of latrines and we have been trying to enter the area with our agricultural program. We have had some success with getting to know farmers, they were our contacts in the community. 

This study required retrieving samples from the latrines to bring to a laboratory. We packed lab jackets, face masks and shields, and rubber gloves. We also had stool sample jars and I made a dipping tool from a long steel rebar with a spoon wired to the end. We also had to measure the depth of the mass in the latrines, so I made a one meter rod to place our laser measurer at a constant distance. We gathered our team and left to El Carril.

1st sample extraction

We arrived to the first house, owned by Rafael and his family. He was worried about his latrine overflowing and having to close it off and build a new one. He gave us permission to test on his latrine and had hopes that the product would help solve his latrine problems. We suited up and looked into the latrine, yes it was pretty full! There were flies all over, and the smell very strong, like an open sewer. We wrote down these observations and took measurements of the mass. Then came the real test, sample extraction! Rafael also volunteered to help us for the project, so he went in with the dipper and pulled out a nice clumpy sample! We all groan, said it was to much and a few looked away! Lisa, from our church group, spooned the sample into the collection jars and sealed it up. Lisa is a nurse here in Nicaragua, so she shrugged her shoulders and was ready to move on to the next latrine! We continued this process for 9 other latrines in the community. 

We were told of another household, where a young man was injured in a bad motorcycle accident. He could not go out to use a latrine, so his mother was caring for him and using a large bed pan for his sanitation. We also visited this young man, and gave some of the product to his mother to help with odors and the clean up. This also gave us an oppertunity to pray for the young man's health and recovery. 

Collecting the sample

The opportunity to pray for that young man is the reason we are doing this project! In our ministry, Jari and I want to engage the local church in community outreach, so they can love their neighbors! This project will help this community be healthier and more sanitary. It will keep their environment cleaner. Best of all, let them know that there are people who love them, as God does, in all areas of their lives. Even the areas very few people want to consider and think about, our waste!

We should be done with this test in December, depending on how the product works.  

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The latrine product is also good for the pigpen!