About This Project

Ninety percent of Malawi does not have access to improved sanitation. 90% of the people also work in agriculture. Small scale farmers comprise more than half of Malawi's population and have limited access to both sanitation and fertilizer. This project aims to assess the ability of composting toilets to provide farmers in northern Malawi with both toilets and a sustainable source of essential soil nutrients.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Ecological sanitation is an approach that aims to reuse human manure in agriculture, thus recycling nutrients through the environment. Composting toilets are one way to implement ecological sanitation. These toilets have 2 chambers: the first chamber is in-use and one that has been filled with manure, sealed, and left to mature for several months. During this maturation process the compost dries out and a combination of temperature and time should result in pathogen die-off.

90% of the Malawian labor force works in agriculture. Many of these are small scale farmers who do not have reliable access to fertilizer to their enrich nutrient-poor soils.

77.7% of the urban population and 92% of the rural population of Malawi lack access to improved sanitation facilities.

What is the significance of this project?

Mzuzu University is working to expand its services to include soil analyses that will help the health and nutrition for the community. In addition to soil-transmitted intestinal worms, recent literature suggests soil and household dust as a source of exposure for diarrheal diseases. Furthermore, crop fields and gardens can be monitored for the presence of essential nutrients. Composting toilets are relatively new to the area, but their impact and the potential for ecological sanitation has yet to be evaluated.

This project lays the groundwork for reducing transmission of diarrheal diseases and intestinal worms, while generating a sustainable source of fertilizer. The end goal is a healthier community able to enrich the soil and improve their crop yields for generations to come.

What are the goals of the project?

1. To determine the combination of temperature, pH, and moisture suitable for pathogen die-off in composting toilets

2.To assess if toilet compost enriches farmland soil by measuring the quantity of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the compost

3. To build the capacity of the Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation by working closely with a university student to collect and analyze data as well as write detailed procedures based on our methods