Cómo? Qué? ...ah, ya entiendo!

The words were zooming across the room. “mejor que digamos….”, “debemos incluir otros servicios sociales…”, “queremos saber también de su equipamiento…” While my mind was struggling to focus on this foreign language, I realized after this meeting with a local coffee cooperative that Spanish is no longer foreign to me, it has become a second language that I can manage with ease in this sometimes strange country. But my ability and fluidity in speaking Spanish allows me to connect with the people and work in a professional level that previously has been a challenge for me.

It was a challenge for me to keep up as I followed this conversation with three native Spanish speakers and one other near fluent Spanish speaker. My Spanish was definitely ranked 5^th out of the five people in the room. But as we discussed the community survey that myself and another intern have been designing, I felt that my understanding of the survey material, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, was on par to participate as an equal in the conversation with these professional agriculture and agro-forestry professionals.

Communicating the need for holistic and community based measurements to these specialized professionals was one of the goals of the meeting and myself and my coworker were able to strategically navigate the Spanish and the semantics in order to bring understanding to the importance of these matters.

It is for reasons as these that I have come to Peru for the summer: to learn about agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, as well as how to manage and interact with development professionals that may not fully grasp the concept or importance of participatory community development. 

My energy level faltered, as the continuous need to follow the fast paced Spanish conversation lagged on, but I was energized as well with the skills that I was applying and the additional knowledge I was learning. Along with this I thought back to my first visits to Latin America and the effort that it took to communicate in Spanish. I reflected on how far my Spanish has come, to be able to sit in meetings with other professionals and comprehend the conversation’s details and clearly communicate concepts and ideas of my own.

Being in Peru this summer is also allowing me to grow in my Spanish language skills, something that I could never get in a classroom, and to grow professionally as well as personally. It is an invaluable experience that is as beautiful as the country and the people I am living among. 

Poop is PC

So I’m gonna geek out on you all for a few minutes and tell you about something that I was very much looking forward to during my time in Peru and it is being fulfilled! Its gonna sound really weird, but I was very excited when I found out that I was going to be using a composting latrine for the summer! Yes, that’s right, I was excited about the human waste disposal system. If you have ever travelled to developing countries you know that the bathroom facilities are usually not what we are used to in the United States, and in the countryside they are even more minimal, consisting most often of merely a hole in the ground that you squat over. These holes are usually swarming with flies and reek of human waste. I don’t ever recommend looking down into the hole, for what you will find will surely turn your stomach. 

A traditional latrine.

Quaint, but not very sanitary

I was first introduced to the concept of composting latrines in Paraguay, where a few of my Peace Corps friends had constructed their own personal composting latrines as both an alternative to the unsanitary options as well as a way to begin to implement alternative sanitation projects in their community. Of all the varieties of improved latrine projects that exist, this is the most sanitary as well as environmentally sustainable, even comparable to the toilets in the United States. How so? Well you don’t use any water and the waste will eventually be used as a fertilizer, completing the natural cycle. Also, proper maintenance of the composting latrine results in no smells and no bugs!

A composting latrine is built elevated, with the first level of the structure containing openable and/or removable compartments where the waste is first deposited and later removed. Human waste needs about a year to decompose before it can be used as fertilizer, so the compartments are divided into two so that one side is decomposing while the other is in use.

Elevated composting latrine with two divided compartments

So how does it work? After you do your business (both solid and liquid), throw a cup of sawdust, (well, we are using sawdust here, but you can also use ash…basically anything that will soak up liquids and maintain a dry atmosphere. All forms of human waste are acceptable to put in the composting toilet as well as toilet paper. Feminine Hygiene product won’t work here though (BUT, diva cup friendly!) Then, make sure the lid is closed. If the latrine starts to smell or have a lot of flies, just throw on more sawdust to maintain a dry environment!

A clean dry environment!

My favorite thing about our composting latrine is the cloth door made of Shipibo textiles. Its beautiful and blue!

SO...?  How did I do talking about shit in a politically correct way??