From Toilet to Table, Overcoming the ‘Yuk’ Factor

Human excrement spread by poor sanitation was to blame for over 9,000 cholera deaths in Haiti, but now, thanks to a simple measure to transform it into nutrient-rich compost, cleanliness has improved - and some enterprising Haitians are able to...

September 20, 2014 | Source: BBC News | by Lorena Arroyo

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The use of eco toilets not only is preventing diseases by improving sanitation but it could also help the country’s food security in the long term, too   

Human excrement spread by poor sanitation was to blame for over 9,000 cholera deaths in Haiti, but now, thanks to a simple measure to transform it into nutrient-rich compost, cleanliness has improved – and some enterprising Haitians are able to grow their own fresh food.

Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, Frantz Francois’ garden is probably the greenest area in Cite Soleil, the biggest slum in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.

In an area where it is hard to find even a tree, Francois grows carrots, peppers and callaloo – a leafy vegetable traditionally used for soups – in his garden.

But it was not easy for him to tempt his neighbours to eat them, as he uses human waste as a fertiliser – something of a taboo in these parts.     


It took a while before Haitians started to appreciate crops grown in the human waste fertiliser

“At the beginning some people said they didn’t want to eat food from this garden because it was grown in the soil from the toilets,” says Francois.

Things started to change when he got his first harvest. Neighbours saw the vegetables and they spread the word. Little by little, the residents are getting over the taboo.

“Now when they see how the plants grow, they realise there’s no contamination and everyone in Cite Soleil would like to have a garden like this for themselves,” he says.