SH_T Happens
27 October 2012 | Way Out There
Rod
In all societies, throughout the world and throughout the ages, humans have had to deal with the unsavory subject of poop and what to do with it. In the modern western world, we simply find a nice clean toilet, do our thing, and with an effortless flick of a hand, we are done with it. This is a convenience well worth appreciating, for it is pretty rare.
When we were in Mexico, the modern western convenience was pretty much the same as we have in the US, with one common exception. The paper. In many places in Mexico, one is asked not to flush the paper down the toilet. This is due to the plumbing and treatment facilities not being able to handle it. So, the stalls are provided with an "icky container". Usually, this is a small trashcan with a plastic liner and a lid. First thought is that this will be pretty gross, but with frequent dumping attention, it was fine.
In Vanuatu, in the villages, the people are poor. They live in grass houses and paddle hand made dug out canoes. But, they have a high standard for their environment. Their village paths are raked and landscaped very nicely. The Vanuatu village often resembles a park. They deal with the poop issue by building little outhouses, yes, out of grass. These outhouses are placed not too near the houses, but still at a convenient distance.
On Tarawa, we saw a method we had not seen before, but we had read about it. We had hoped what we had read was wrong. Tarawa is the business center of Kirabati, and as such, it attracts many people from the outer islands hoping to find work, excitement, etc. The small island city of Betio is the concentration center, and really is a big slum. On our WWII tour, we were afforded the opportunity to see neighborhoods and areas we would not have found on our own. Unlike Vanuatu, the poor I-Kiribati, have electricity, as well as some kind of running water. They have solid construction houses. And, they poop on the beach.
Not all do this, but the evidence we saw was that many practice this. Our opportunity to witness this firsthand was when we went to the cannons located on the west side of the island at what was called "Green Beach" during the battle. It is just their old custom, and now that so many people are there, it's pretty gross. A pity. It would be really easy to dig outhouses like the Ni-Vanuatu.
But my point is not to make judgments. It is only to illustrate that there are many different ways of dealing with the ancient problem of poop. On the boat, we have a holding tank that is used while in port. It is pumped out at a pump out facility in first world marinas and ports. In the third world, you are on you own, so the tank is set up to pump overboard into the deep sea. (Don't worry, whales poop too, much more than humans do.) There is also the question of paper. Have you ever heard of a yachtie having to rebuild his head (toilet) due to land based guests flushing too much paper? It happens very often, so the previous owners of Proximity had installed a little sign readable from the throne. It reads: "Please do not flush anything down this toilet unless you have eaten it first." Remember Mexico. They have a brilliant idea. Enter the "Icky Bag". On Proximity, we keep a sealable plastic bag for just this occasion, and it is dumped daily. We have never had a clogged toilet. It does not smell bad, and although it is by nature, the "Icky Bag", it is not gross. It is just a good way to deal with the ancient human problem. And now you know much more about this lovely subject than you ever wanted!
Be Excellent to Each Other, Ok? Rod and Elisabeth "Your Rock and Roll Argonauts"