In South Sudan, in Ezo town,Tambura and Yambo, INTERSOS staff is now engaged in providing sanitation facilities for vulnerable individuals, with focus on internal displaced people and returnees. INTERSOS undertook the local community involvement in pit latrine construction.
In this activity Intersos will work directly with the community, to develop a good understanding of the importance of having good sanitation facilities and to involve the community to understand the easy process of digging a pit, building a slab and the possibility to replicate it.

The number of Arborloo slabs that will be constructed is around 300, 190 have been already built. Given the low number available, Intersos will focus on the most vulnerable people in the community as a first priority.

The beneficiaries will be selected based on information provided by the protection team in Ezo, in cooperation with the hygiene promoters, following consultations with local stakeholders.

Vulnerable people are:
-People who have a disability (cannot walk, cannot see, sickness etc)
-People living with HIV/AIDS
-Old people
-Single mothers
-Child headed households
It is important that the people selected are those who absolutely cannot construct a latrine on their own and have no one who can help them.

The Arborloo is the name given to a simple pit latrine that has a shallow pit and a slab that can be moved to be re-used over another slab when the first one is full. A tree can be planted in the old pit once full, and the tree will grow very well in the nutritious soil.

INTERSOS chose Arborloo type because it is easy to construct and cheap to build. It needs a strong community involvement and participation in the process. The idea is that through a responsible person’s supervision and help, the community can understand the technology and implement it by themselves.

The Arborloo is made up of 4 parts:
-The pit
-The “ring beam” to protect the pit
-The concrete slab which sits on the ring beam
-The superstructure which provides privacy inside the latrine
The Arborloo pit fills up with a mix of excreta, soil, wood ash and leaves. Leaves are put in the base of the pit before use and every day some soil, wood and ash is added to the pit. Dry leaves are also added to the pit. No garbage is put down the Arborloo pit. When soil, ash and leaves are added to excreta, it changes quite fast into compost. The daily addition of soil and ash also helps to control flies and smells.

When the Arborloo pit is full, the slab and ring beam are moved to another place and a thick layer (30 cm thick) of soil and leaves is placed over the pit contents.

A young tree is planted in this soil and is watered and cared for and also protected against animals.

The concrete slab is made with a mixture of cement sand and gravel with some reinforcing iron. The mould for the concrete slab is made with a ring of bricks laid on levelled ground. The bricks are laid around a circle marked on the ground, one meter in diameter (radius 50cm). The squat hole is made by placing a shaped plastic bucket or shaped bricks in the slab mould. A mixture of fresh cement and sand is made.

The ring beam helps to keep the top of the pit from falling in. It supports the concrete slab and soil, the pit is rammed in place around it to make the toilet safer. The ring beam can be made of bricks or it can be made with a mix of cement and clean river sand.

It is important to raise the toilet base above ground level. The ring beam is made on slightly raised ground where the toilet is to be built. Then dig out the pit inside the ring beam down to 2 metres below ground level. Some of the soil which comes out of the pit is placed around the ring beam and rammed hard in place. This will help to make the ring beam strong in its place.

It is estimated that the first pit will last for 2 years, before the household needs to move the ring beam and slab to another pit.