The Three Pigs

(by Colleen)

begging the question

Okay folks, here´s the scoop. Let´s talk poop! After learning that 2 people had fear of coming to visit us only because of where they thought they would be doing business…it´s time to set the record straight!

We have a composting toilet. (One day it will be a composting latrine, but right now, we poop in a bucket!) Joking aside, it is very clean and believe it or not, no smell! If you were thinking it would stink, then you have a misconception because you´ve been in a nasty pit latrine or port-a-potty.

The difference…with the composting latrine-bucket, you cover your waste with a mix of dry material such as saw dust, dirt, charcoal, etc.  A pit latrine is stagnant and has no dry material, which contributes to the smell, because all of the wet material sits and festers. The former stays aerobic while the latter goes anaerobic.

what a life... sigh

On to the pigs! One day after Alan emptied our composting bucket; I smelled something bad and thought it was our own waste. Alan set me straight and informed me that our compost has little to no smell, that what I must be smelling was pig poop. Unfortunately, our house sits downwind from our neighbors pig pen…and of course the smell always seems to be most noticeable when we are ready to eat! They have 3 pigs in a very small contained area, and if their waste isn´t washed out immediately, the smell lingers. We plan on talking with our neighbors about this problem after this batch of piggies goes to market.

As for our composting waste…I have smelled it, and it smells a bit like sweet hay. So, if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, please stop in and have a seat.