Making a VIP Toilet

On Friday the VHW students were invited to help make a VIP toilet at the Ministry of Health (MoH) campus. "Why a toilet for VIPs?" I hear you wondering. Well, it actually stands for Ventilated Improved Pit toilet. I will explain later.

Preparations are made to pour a concrete slab to cover the pit. 

The students were encouraged to hands-on in building the formwork.

As well as the slab, a concrete cylinder needs to be poured to form the toilet bowl.

The cylinder is reinforced with chicken wire.

 After all the formwork was prepared, they hand-mixed the concrete and poured it into the moulds.

Openings were cast in for the waste hole and the ventilation hole.

On Monday we returned to the MoH to remove the formwork and see how it had turned out. All hands on deck to lift the slab so the waste hole former could be removed.

The formers at top and bottom of the cylinder had not been oiled so they were very difficult to remove without breaking up the concrete cylinder - a good lesson in what not to do 😁.

The finished components ready for assembly. 

Tomorrow the MoH has invited us to go to Etas village, about half-hour drive away from Vila to see our components assembled over a pit that has been dug by the community there, and to see how the whole unit works. Keep watching for the next exciting installment!