Diverting human urine from outhouses into agriculture in Nicaragua : for sanitation, fertilizer and recycling purposes

Abstract: Human urine is a   valuable resource which has good potential to be used as a fertilizer all   over the world. In the developing countries sanitation and food security are   both issues that need urgent attention.    A urine separation toilet can be constructed with minimal investment   in the Nicaraguan context, and the usage of the urine as a fertilizer can   help establish higher yields and is a good alternative to chemical   fertilizers. This field experiment is trying this in practice in the context   of rural Nicaragua, to determine the effect of urine on two plants on. For   this study, the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and the Chaya (Cnidoscolus   aconitifolius) was selected and the results confirm that urine has potential   as a fertilizer in the Nicaragua context. The common bean yield was twice as   large after urine fertilization and the Chaya reacted positively to urine   fertilization. For urine separation purposes, two different separators were   constructed on the site to showcase the benefits with separating the urine   from the faeces, creating lower latrine volume and better sanitation in the   outhouse. The risks associated with human urine are low if the urine is   separated securely to avoid crosscontamination from faeces. If a   safety-barrier system is adopted, the overall risks with using urine as a   fertilizer are negligible. The spreading potential of urine separation and   fertilization in rural Nicaragua is high, but more experiments and   demonstrations are needed to reach adopters of the technology.