While we were planning the house build we were looking at what would fit into the dream.
It seemed like a compost toilet would be a good idea so we did some research and found a kiwi company making these things which was an attractive aspect for us.
We started using the toilet in an out house before we were living in the house.
It was a step up on the long drop that we were using until then which softened the blow a little for everyone but especially the teenage daughters.
It looked a lot closer to a normal toilet than what we had been using and even better, there was no smell so I remember thinking that was a big deal at the time.
When we installed the compost loo into the house it was one part of an alternate system that included a grey water treatment system that the same company also supplied and was BRANZ approved so the it was easy for the council to approve.
There was quite a big learning curve to negotiate to learn how to “drive” this system. We had been used to just pushing the button and everything was gone just like everyone else’s but now we had to think about this shit. Our shit and the bugs, fungi and bacteria that we needed to sustain in order to make this actually work.
This meant thinking about what we put in there and what we couldn’t put in there in order to keep the bugs healthy.
We needed to add carbon and sawdust (untreated) was suggested but within a few months we had unwanted visitors and a smelly toilet. Little flies were hanging around and you can imagine what sitting on the loo and a fly buzzing around under you would be like.
We soon realised the sawdust was creating a concrete like seal over the pile, making it anaerobic and keeping the moisture from evaporating properly so the pile was way to wet.
We were learning that this was a compost heap and it had to be looked after like one.
We had to manage the loo so the bugs could thrive. We learned that adding bulky mulch created little air pockets and didn’t seal like sawdust, it supplied lots of different nooks and crannies for different bugs, fungi and bacteria to make a home.
After a year or two its was time to clean the toilet out and I had lost my sense of smell so that was a quite convenient for that job.
We made a pile on one of our gardens and covered it with a tarp. Left it there for a few months as it was impossible to not pick up some fresher stuff than we wanted while cleaning it out and time would give the worms a chance to gobble up the goodies.
There was a moment where we realised how valuable the compost that came out of our toilet was. It created a kind of loop that started and ended at the garden.
The compost from the loo started feeding the garden and in a round about way the garden was feeding the loo.
One time as we got used to being around the toilet compost I got a little loose around it and the family got hit with parasitic worms, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. We were using the compost too soon, maybe even handling it with a lack of respect for what bugs could be in there.
We purchased a book called the humanure handbook that gave some sound advice around how to deal with the compost and avoid parasites.
It was pretty simple stuff, either make the heap heat up or leave it for ages so the good bugs get to rule the roost.
It took maybe 3 or 4 years to make a sound transition and occasionally we get a curved ball but the bottom line is if you look after the bugs, they will look after you.
The moral of the story is its all about the bugs
“now we had to think about this shit” 😂