Sullage - irrigated household latrine woodlots

Within two years from August 2001, more than 400 refugee households in each of the three Dadaab Refugee camps, in North Eastern Province of Kenya, will begin to cater for their own wood pole requirements for pit latrine superstructure construction and other shelter – related needs. This will cut down CARE’s latrine materials support to the refugee households by at least USD 5 per latrine per year. This is through the household latrine woodlots initiative which entails planting a woodlot of 20-30 fast growing trees around existing and backfilled family latrines. The trees are irrigated with wastewater (sullage) from the latrine slabs as well as kitchen waste splashing. The idea is attractive because the community is able to participate actively in environmental rehabilitation while gaining woody resources for household needs. Owing to the fact that the region (Dadaab) is semi-arid and has scarce range resources, the initiative will bring about significant positive impacts on the environment.