The Toilet Building

The toilet buildings are all external to the houses. Design considerations were given to factors such as easy access, privacy, security, rainwater collection, available land and ease of maintenance.

The toilet building design was developed in consultation with STVEDC and CHDS. HH developed drawings to communicate the design, and the construction process used building techniques and materials that are regularly available and familiar to the Nepali team.
Features of the toilet include:

  • locally made and sourced building materials, fixings, fittings and products
  • secure roof fixing: in villages, roofs are often held down by the weight of rocks, as they are cheap and available; the toilet building design uses screws for more effective fixing of the roof and less likelihood of polluting the water collected off the roof
  • generous roof overhangs to keep the entry dry during the wet season and maximise rainwater collection
  • an Asian style pan with dip flush toilet; dip flushing is a manual flushing technique using water from the internal tap provided to flush away the human waste (see photo bottom left) 
  • the toilet pan is installed level with the concrete slab surface to make cleaning easier
  • a locally sourced polyethylene rainwater tank which stores 500 litres of water; the tank supplements the often inadequate village water supply, provides water for dip flushing the toilet pan, cleaning the floor, and for hand washing using the external tap 
  • locally sourced timber roof battens set into brickwork to close the gap between the ceiling and wall preventing dust build-up and insect access
  • small windows of mosquito mesh above the door frame and opposite wall to provide cross-flow ventilation and protection from insects, whilst maintaining privacy and cooling the space
  • external lock on the door to keep the toilet secure and enable it to be well maintained by the owners
  • locally made stone pavers laid on the ground to prevent mud being carried into the toilet by the user, particularly in the wet season
  • a clothes hook to enable the toilet to be used for changing clothes and hanging towels
  • a brush for cleaning the toilet.