Low cost squat toilets for Rural India



 
A Low Cost squat toilet for use in rural homes
While it seems that indoor toilets were invented in India five thousand years ago in Indus valley civilization, the intervening centuries of poverty have caused these to disappear from many homes, especially in rural India. The outdoors is used as an open toilet to defecate under the open skies. With increasing population this is leading to pollution of water sources and other health hazards. The present Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has undertaken to change the situation. In this process the search for cheaper viable alternatives is required in order to accelerate the process.

Existing Squat toilets

The existing squat toilets are primarily made out of two materials, the ceramic toilet and the stainless steel toilet that are used in railway coaches. A third new alternative that is cheaper on the whole and quicker to install as well as lighter to transport is now described.

The New stainless steel veneer on plastic toilet

Recently, plastic has come to be used widely for bathroom fittings as well as furniture. Bath tubs are also available in plastic. However when it comes to toilet bowls it is not a good choice because these require frequent scrubbing and cleaning. Therefore here the use of a thin stainless steel sheet veneer for the bowl portion of a toilet is visualized. It is illustrated in the accompanying figure and the concept would be self evident to any engineer from the figure. The bowl is shown as rectangular only for simplicity. Any other shape may be used as desired. The use of a veneer reduces stainless steel requirement. The foot rest may remain in plastic. In addition there is a surrounding plastic sheet so that the need for installing a floor is also eliminated.  After installing the exit piping and preparing the soil foundation in a toilet enclosure, the entire assembly is simply placed on it and the toilet is ready. The foot rest hollow portion of the sheet, visible from the reverse side should be filled with mud plaster or cement mortar so as to increase its carrying capacity. More details may be obtained from the author as a comment here if required.

This concept is hereby released in the public domain by the author in public interest and may be taken up by any interested manufacturer without hesitation.

Other Rural Toilet links in this blog:

  1. The septic drain for a rural toilet

  1.  An incentive scheme to encourage installation of toilets in rural India.

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