Latrines are not sexy.  They’re not glamorous.  But they are one of the most important elements in any comprehensive plan for economic development.  Here’s why. 

Without latrines to remove fecal matter from local environs, people end up living in their own E.coli.  It’s incredibly deadly.  But when everybody’s pooping in the bushes, it gets tracked by animals, washed around by rain, blown by wind, and generally spread all around an encampment.  And people die.

The solution is surprisingly simple:  contain the fecal matter below ground so it doesn’t get spread around.  That is what latrines do.  We use an adapted UNICEF design to build latrines in Indonesia, Zambia, and Kenya.  It is a functional, durable, and inexpensive solution to one of the greatest obstacles to development. 

We’re just completing Phase 5 of project to install 120 latrines in Ban, on the island of Bali, in Indonesia.  Each unit costs only $300, because the local people do the work.  It’s one of the highest return-on-investment projects we carry out.