04-25-2020, 12:35 PM
Returned from Colombia this March in the middle of a pandemic we had plans but now they have been put on hold for the time. We started to build a small house on a piece of land in a rural area at a 3 hour bus ride from Medellin. In the two months we were there ( my wife and son were there three months) we managed to build a wooden cabin just over 100 square feet. And a rock house that is about 250 square feet. The house has a solid flat roof with 120 square feet extension and a half metre overhang on three sides so there is plenty of room to build on top. Right now we have no electricity. We borrowed from the neighbor who lives about 100 metres away in return we paid her electric bill. Water is not a problem we have a stream with beautiful clean water running at the side of our property. For now we are using a dry toilet. ( A toilet seat is mounted on a wooden box with a hole on top and a removable panel in the front, we used fittings from a portable comode that slips into a 10 gallon pail below. )We installed a shower tent around the dry toilet for privacy. This toilet is primarily for #2 ( boys can find a tree for #1). It is just like a normal toilet. We use toilet paper. We just dispose of the toilet paper in a separate container.
The only differences is we put a scoop of talc on top of the feces after every session to neutralize the smell and prevent flies from laying eggs. For two people after a week or 10 days we bury the contents, wash the bucket thoroughly and line the bottom with mulch to prevent sticking. My wife is Colombian so she is able to relate to the locals which is why she went to Colombia earlier than I. She was also from a rural area and is an agronomist( engineer at farming) . So far the project has been a success but there is still a lot to accomplish. Electricity, plumbing and septic. And the biggest challenge is can a guy who has lived almost 60 years in small cities in Canada can adapt to life in the mountains of Colombia on a more permanent basis. I will never fully leave Canada I have brothers, sons, daughter and grandkids here. All the poisonous snakes,spiders and scorpions are not a problem for me. My bigger problem seems to be the local dogs. Every farmer has at least one of them, they are not on leases and they don't seem to like the sound or smell of white people; was attacked by dogs so much I took to carrying a 2 metre stick with me whenever I went for a walk.
The only differences is we put a scoop of talc on top of the feces after every session to neutralize the smell and prevent flies from laying eggs. For two people after a week or 10 days we bury the contents, wash the bucket thoroughly and line the bottom with mulch to prevent sticking. My wife is Colombian so she is able to relate to the locals which is why she went to Colombia earlier than I. She was also from a rural area and is an agronomist( engineer at farming) . So far the project has been a success but there is still a lot to accomplish. Electricity, plumbing and septic. And the biggest challenge is can a guy who has lived almost 60 years in small cities in Canada can adapt to life in the mountains of Colombia on a more permanent basis. I will never fully leave Canada I have brothers, sons, daughter and grandkids here. All the poisonous snakes,spiders and scorpions are not a problem for me. My bigger problem seems to be the local dogs. Every farmer has at least one of them, they are not on leases and they don't seem to like the sound or smell of white people; was attacked by dogs so much I took to carrying a 2 metre stick with me whenever I went for a walk.
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