As our world, with all its beloved conveniences of indoor plumbing, spirals out of control, I find it difficult to believe that I even have to consider the need for knowing how to site a latrine. Well, ok, it’s something everyone should know in case of a massive natural disaster that renders indoor plumbing useless, but right now I’m looking at everything our government is doing to make sure we collapse into a third world hellhole. I guess I’m getting a little salty about it.
When things really fall apart here, when there is no water coming in and no sewage going out of the house, dread diseases will begin to rear their ugly heads in society. If we want to avoid these diseases within our own families, we’ve got to be prepared to take appropriate measures. Unless we’ve invested in a composting toilet, our next best option is probably digging a latrine. And while placing it as close to the house as possible sounds like a good idea in the middle of the night in a snowy winter, that’s one of the worst locations.
So where does the latrine go?
Keep the following in mind:
· Select a site at least 200 feet away from your water supply (and the neighbors’ water supplies as well, unless you really want to make enemies)
· Select a sunny location where the soil will heat up more quickly and hasten decomposition
· Avoid placing where rainwater runoff occurs
· Avoid placing near food preparation or eating areas[1]
Dr. Alton, in his Survival Medicine Handbook, presents one possible latrine idea. A trench latrine for a small group should be about 1.5 feet wide, at least 2 feet deep, and several feet long.[2] Two boards are placed along the length of the both sides of the trench for support. The dirt from the trench is mounded nearby, and a shovelful is scattered over the waste each time to deter flies. It looks rather uncomfortable to use. I imagine most women would not be happy with it, even if there is a privacy shield.
Where There Is No Doctor has some much better suggestions with detailed instructions. There is a quick one, you know, because SHTF just now happened, in addition to two other designs that will keep the flies out and the smells in. Basic tools and supplies for constructing the latrine (not the privacy shelter that goes with it) include:
· Shovel
· Hoe
· Cement, plus sand, gravel, and water to mix with it
· Wire mesh, about 1 meter square
· Two disposable buckets of different sizes
If you want to build the deluxe latrine that includes ventilation and a fly trap, you’ll also want a ventilation pipe (about 7 feet long in the diagram, but it seems like a shorter one would also work) and a wire fly screen.[3]
Regardless of the kind of latrine you build, you’ll want a bucket and small shovel or trowel—some kind of scoop—nearby. In the bucket, keep lime, wood ash, peat moss, or dirt, and sprinkle a scoop in the hole after each use to reduce flies and odor and speed decomposition.
[1] Joseph Alton, Survival Medicine Handbook, 2017, 167.
[2] Joseph Alton, Survival Medicine Handbook, 2017, 167.
[3] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 137-39.
