What is this eco-action about?
With this eco-action a family in the Amazon Rainforest will either get a brand-new bathroom that sends grey and black water to a banana circle where, by a process of phytorremediation, turns the waste into fertile compost, or a dry bathroom where humans waste is turned into soil for plants.
Bananas are hungry plants. They need a lot of water and nutrients from the soil. Growing them in circles is a permaculture method that consists of digging a pit in the middle to fill with organic materials, like leaves and compost, and wait for the garden waste to break down and deliver nutrients to the plant roots. This is a method that allows plants to go through their natural processes with as little interference as possible. The bananas will thrive on the abundant cycling of organic material as well as the moisture that is generated by its design.
Waste water, kitchen water, urine or excess water can go into the pit through an outdoor shower right on top. By building banana circles around the community, waste water will be used in a sustainable way, irrigating plants and composting.
Dry toilets require no use of water and are, therefore, suitable in regions where water is not easily available. They can be produced with locally accessible materials.
Build a water treatment system using banana circles and dry toilets
Who are you partnering with?
You will be partnering with the 13 families from the community of Mushullakta, an Indigenous community in the Napo area of Ecuador who is committed to the ecological restoration of their forests.
Where will your money go?
Your money will be used to buy the materials necessary to build the bathroom infrastructure, to pay for the banana plants that need to be planted around the circle, and to cover the wages of two workers that will build a system in a house everytime there is a purchase.