An arbor loo in Ethiopia serves as a sanitary latrine and fertilizer for growing plants. Photo by CRS Staff

Today Catholic Relief Services recognizes World Toilet Day as a way to call attention to the fact that hundreds of millions of people worldwide lack access to clean water and safe sanitation services.

One of the many innovations that CRS water and sanitation experts bring to impoverished areas is the Arbor Loo.

For less than $20 per family, CRS is helping to improve sanitation, provide more food and put local masons to work in an innovative project to construct arbor loos.

An arbor loo is a shallow pit latrine which, once filled, becomes a “pre-fertilized” base for a plant, such as a fruit tree. This creative device does double duty — providing improved sanitation and fertilizer for plantings.

When the latrine is dug, a simple concrete slab is placed over the opening. A portable shelter, often built of mud, branches or stalks, provides privacy. Ashes are thrown in after each use to help prevent odor and discourage flies. Once the latrine is full, it is capped with good topsoil and a seedling is planted on top.

In some communities, arbor loos have proven so popular that some farmers have taken to digging even shallower pits so they can fill them faster and plant more seedlings.

CRS is committed to improving water and sanitation conditions for the poor around the world, and access to a toilet is a major concern. Almost 40 percent of the world’s population has no access to a toilet. Since 2006, CRS has supported the construction of more than 38,000 arbor loos in Africa.

Abraham Desta, a Catholic bishop in Meki, Ethiopia visited Milwaukee and talked to editors and reporters of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His visit resulted in, among other things, an article by Patrick McIlheran on how a little can go a long way in helping people across the globe.

The article quotes Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan, head of CRS’s board, and mentions use of arbor loos, described in Voices in November.

McIlheran wrote: “World Toilet Day wasn’t invented to sell either cards or plumbing. Rather, Nov. 18 was the day on which one was reminded that roughly 2.5 billion people around the world lack what the United Nations calls “improved sanitation” – anything from a pit latrine on up.”

“… As the absurdity of World Toilet Day reminds you, even a few dollars can do good.”

Mayling Simpson-Hebert, a CRS regional technical advisor in East Africa, shares her dream of 100 percent sanitation coverage across the globe.

Happy World Toilet Day! Although it may be hard to believe, almost 40 percent of the world’s population has no access to a toilet. Imagine it: More than one out of every three people living on earth relieves themselves in the open.

Arbor loos are inexpensive toilets that first serve sanitation needs then later provide a rich source of nutrients for fruit trees. In Ethiopia, a family has built a basic privacy fence around the concrete toilet slab of this arbor loo. Photo by CRS Staff.

Simple toilets can make a significant health impact. Many families, though, are either unable to afford proposed latrine designs or simply don’t buy into the benefits. But one model, the “arbor loo,” is making headway. Designed by Peter Morgan in Zimbabwe for the African situation, it is affordable for most rural African households.

Key to the arbor loo’s success is how it serves double duty: first as a basic toilet, then as an extremely fertile pit for a fruit tree. The design provides a wealth of benefits:

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