Hi: I have a fledgling consultancy company called The House of Kabook-i:
kabook-i(R)is an holistic, self-sustainable system that involves building solid homes from bamboo and earth materials, sustainable sanitation, water management, composting humanure and raised bed gardening. It is primarily aimed at developing countries & disaster areas, but has great potential for eco-villages and economical off-the-grid lifestyles.
Please visit the site and feel free to pass comment. I am actively looking for projects; if any members have a potential link-up please let me know.

best regards
Mike
The House of Kabook-i Pte Ltd
kabook-i.com
admin@kabook-i.com

Hi Mike,
> Glad to meet you.
> I think your new platform could be very beneficial for us and the
> Howard-Higgins system. My experience is that the rural poor (Africa) can't afford
> the septic tank system and end up with overflowing pits in the ground that were put in in the past and now the cost of fuel has gone up they can't afford to have them emptied or they simply fill up enormous pit latrines that pollute ground water and producew no fertilizer - thus they are in a more difficult situation
> than they were in the first place.
>
Richard Higgins
Co chair working group 5 (sanitation to agriculture)

Hi Richard: I think it's different horses for different courses. What works in Asia may not work in Africa for a myriad of cultural / social reasons. I believe that the most popular form of toilet in Africa is the Arbor loo - a simple hole in the ground that's refilled with soil and a tree planted on top. Selling my system against that would be a hard sell. I have just had an inquiry though from Africa to build a 'dry' public toilet. This is to alleviate the problem of open defecation next to the open food market - obvious consequences. I've sent off a preliminary proposal, using a totally different approach, then see how. My holistic system, and it's really not a new invention or something, is aimed more at individual households, tapping into personal responsibility to make it work, and showing how to re-use human waste(s) as a vital product they can grow crops in. Education and involvement is an important factor behind getting the system accepted in the long term. Please link me up if you hear of any projects globally - I would welcome an opportunity for us to work together.
my personal take on septic tanks & pit latrines? Why create a toxic sludge problem in the first place then have to deal with it? Way better to go UDDT - ecosan - then have two separate products - humanure & NPK - or a mix of both - which you can easily compost and utilise - or am I missing something?
Best regards
Mike
PS: please feel free to leave a comment on my site.