Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Magazine Ma | Page 37

Sanitation (6) When not in use, cover the whole thing tightly with a sheet of plastic to keep rain, flies and curious eyes out. (7) When full (to a height of nearly the 12 cm), or when the users are moving on, tie the sack shut with a tag that says something like, “Open this package of rich organic soil only after XX/X/20XX (a year or two from now) when it is safe to use in agriculture” and hide it somewhere protected against the rain and sun, like under a bridge. Another option would be to bury the sack, preferably in dry, well aerated soil (potentially under that same bridge). The feces should dry and decompose for at least 6 months in the Tropics or a year in Temperate Countries (longer if buried in the soil), so that the pathogens die and it is no longer dangerous. If the users are there long enough, or come back, they can use this new soil themselves in agriculture, or recycle it as an excellent cover material for new feces in the UDDT once again. More worrisome people might want to only put it in the bottoms of holes for planting trees, which is also a great use. The advantage of using biodegradable, jute sacks is that one can just throw the recently filled sack in the bottom of a hole, plant a tree on top of it, and forget about it (until you wonder why the tree is growing so fast and with such luscious fruits). Please visit: http://inodoroseco.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-free-minimalist-uddt-part-1.html UN partners WSSCC and OHCHR gather diverse stakeholders to foreground sanitation, rights and dignity for women Ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March, joint hosts the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organized a one-day event on Inspiring Change to Promote Women’s Rights and Dignity. G rass-roots activists shared inspirational experiences on reducing female circumcision in Senegal, raising awareness of lesbian and transgender issues in Nepal and working for the dignity of sex workers in India at a special meeting at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Friday, 7 March 2014. “This meeting focused on the fundamental rights of women, to examine current policy and practice as well as challenges to women’s empowerment across their life cycle, looking at vulnerable groups through the lens of water, sanitation and hygiene,” said WSSCC Executive Director Chris Williams as he welcomed some 70 participants from health, sanitation and rights groups across the world. Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2014 35