26 April 2006
An outhouse, out in the forest
Someone has to do it...
© Greenpeace
Today we started the building of a new outhouse. The two-metre deep pit which has served as our toilet is starting to fill up after heavy use. Volunteers, campaigners and journalists from around the world have done a good job contributing to it.
The outhouse reminds me of the traditional Finnish toilets which are still in use in the country side. Usually they are permanent buildings and the contents are buried a few times a year into another pit in the forest and then covered with earth.
Digging here is quite slow, since we lack a proper shovel that would be most suitable for the job. The nearest hardware store is a few hundred kilometres away, so we have to use the equipment we already have at the camp.
First, we softened the ground with wooden sticks and the axe. After that we used the shovel to remove earth. Digging is slow in the hot and humid air. After three hours, we have a 1.5 metre-deep pit that should last for the next 4-6 weeks.
Next job was to build the flooring. We took our machetes and axes and headed to the forest. After an hour we returned with a small amount of 10-15cm thick logs. These were used to build a floor for a person balancing over the small hole above the pit. Tomorrow, we'll move the ceilings and roof from the old toilet to the new one. It's not the fanciest job to build a toilet but without the toilet there is no camp.
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