Our Ecological Latrine system
How Do Manage Sanitation
The problem of sanitation is a world wide epidemic and it's no different at the farm. We have
experimented with two different latrine systems and we're on to a third system, and with each we find
ourselves happier and happier with our results.
Our Ecological Latrine system
At Selva Negra we house well over 400 people during the off-season, during the coffee picking season,
this number can easily double. This includes the workers as well as their families and children. This
creates an incredible sustainability issue when it comes to the use of water, and a good portion of this
water is used in the bathrooms.
Toilet system
Our toilet system is ecological and sustainable. The water for the toilet and shower is supplied through
a tank that is located outside the home and works with a buoy system determining the water level. This
tank supplies water to a small bin inside the shower area, this bin is always full with water as it has an
open pipe that connects to the tank outside. As water is used, it automatically is filled up again. The
toilet does not have a tank, only the seat and you flush it with a bucket from the water of this shower
bin, the system is very efficient since only minimal water is needed to flush.
What next: the sewer system
The toilet water is collected separately from the greywater. The toilet water follows a pipeline that leads
to a large tank that works as a digester, here the water is decontaminated by fermentation of the same
bacteria we have in our intestines and produces methane gas at the same time. This gas is used for
cooking in the main kitchen. The excess water goes out and is mixed with the shower and laundry
water in a smaller tank. This mix is then sent to a filter tank filled with rocks and bamboo that will hold
other bacteria to finish the cleaning process. The decontaminated water is routed to an underground
pipeline with holes to irrigate a field of citrus trees as well as a sugar cane plantation for the cattle.
Current installations
Currently we have these individual private toilets installed in the worker's houses, currently we have 23
completed and 10 under construction with an anticipated completion date of mid-January. We also have
a toilet complex of sorts where ten toilets are accessible outside of the homes with a similar system,
they also include shower installations. We've also experimented with eco-latrines, these are above
ground and dry latrines. The liquid from the liquid waste station is used in an underground irrigation
system over an area of several meters, and the remains of the solid waste station (after a six month
rotation and treatment with ashes) is used as fertilizer. We've collected several bags of this fertilizer and
used it on the coffee and citruses, it has proved to be a rich soil full of nutrients.