Toilets for Tilory - One Year Old

Hi One-Truckers, my name is Betty. I'm an officer of One Truck, but until recently I had not seen for myself the work that One Truck has done. In late November, Cosmo and I travelled to Tilory. Our goal was to deliver supplies and assess the progress of the compostable toilets. Let me say first that asthetically, Haiti is not at all what I expected. Parts of it look like a sort of lord-of-the-ringsy tropical Vermont. Haiti is beautiful. I have to say, driving to the village, I was nervous. Cosmo had worked very hard on building the toilets and educating the community, but it was up to them to make it work. They had to maintain the toilets, convert the waste into compost, and monitor the temperature daily. These are people who have no choice but to live in the immediate: finding their next meal, finding their children's next meal, not getting sick, etc. I was honestly afraid that a project that focused on the long term would have trouble functioning in the village. I am so happy to say I was wrong. The group of about six Tilory residents who had volunteered to look after the project led us to the first toilet. Cosmo all but broke into a dance when he saw it. The compost pile next to the toilet stall was sprouting with tall plants. (see video!) We took samples from the pile and moved on to other toilets, all looking good. We were very excited to find out that Tilory residents had gotten together and built another toilet based on our model. It is not difficult to see how this has changed life in Tilory. The toilets have greatly increased the sanitation and safety of the community, and have provided an invaluable amount of education on the link between waste, cleanliness and prevention of disease. We were extremely disappointed to find out that sawdust, a main component of the compost mixture and project's success, was no longer free. The local lumber yards that had once given away the sawdust are now charging money that seriously interferes with the continuation of the project. People expressed how excited they were about the toilets and how they had changed things in Tilory; they also emphasized their worry that the price of sawdust would hinder the project. We share this worry and need your help. What struck me in Haiti is how even the smallest amount can go such a long way.  Please watch the video below and consider making a donation.