Streets paved with poo

Salimanda in front of her composting latrine which produces manure that she can use in her garden.

Credit: WaterAid / Marco Betti

In Mbuyuni in the peri-urban Temeke District of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, the streets aren't paved with gold, or even normal paving slabs, but with poo.

A lot of households in Mbuyuni have pit latrines, but because no-one knows what to do when the latrines fill up, most people wait until the rains come, then empty the contents of the latrines out on to the small, winding streets, and let the rains wash the sewage away, turning the streets into open sewers.

WaterAid and its partner HERO promoted composting latrines as a way round this problem. Composting latrines produce a dry compost which can be dug out and sold once the latrines are full.

Two households were supported to build demonstration latrines as examples to the rest of the community. The householders provided the bricks, sand and water for the latrines' construction.

Salimanda Maungulile, one of Mbuyuni's residents and the proud owner of one of the demonstration latrines, recounts how lucky she was that she was able to make the contributions:

"We really needed a toilet. Before we just had a temporary toilet drum that needed emptying every six months. We would bury the waste in the ground and dig another hole when that was full. Luckily we didn't have to do this very often as it was just temporary. People here empty their buckets of waste out in the streets which means that all the streets are contaminated with sewage and that's why there are often outbreaks of cholera."

Salimanda is a member of an environment and health committee and visits people in their homes to encourage them to save for the latrines. She is confident that she can convince people to put the money aside:

"Even though I have a good toilet, because no one else does, it affects my life. In this neighbourhood, it is impossible to keep your children inside so you must fight to get your neighbourhood clean.

"These toilets are good because of the manure they produce and the fact that it is safe for my children. I hope that everyone in my community could have a toilet like this. Life would be much better, the streets would be clean. I believe we can do this. Our committee has set a target of three years and I am confident we can do it."