UNOFFICIAL

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

THE GENDARME TOILET

The above named toilet is piloted at Serowe clinic where the writer of this article is currently based .The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and not of Serowe /Palapye sub District or Central District Council in which she (the writer) is an employee.

The gendarme toilet is just like any other toilet except that it does not use water to flush therefore it saves a lot of water. It is very convenient here because we experience shortage of water time and again. lf it was not for Gendarme toilet there would be no where for patients to go as well as people from the Library and some from the mall. The fact that it is easy to use I it has no bad smell and does not breed flies has made it become popular with the users .1 believe this type of toilet would be ideal for institutions like schools especially when there is shortage of water. This would promote safe environmental hygiene. In addition to this the gendarme toilet is easy to clean I needs little maintenance too. It does not have a tank outside for solid waste therefore no need for pumping frequently.

Mr. Thomas Lepale the gardener at the above named clinic keeps the clinic surroundings tidy and in good order every day. He is dedicated to his work and enjoys it fully. He has volunteered to take care of the gendarme toilet .He keeps it clean, assists every person who needs it and demonstrate to them how it works and above all he keeps a record of the number of users. The first toilet according to -his reports was used by over 14000 (patients and public) during the 2years 4 months it was in operation. The second one started operating on the 13/02/04. It has been used by over 1800 people. This figures indicate how useful this toilet is to the public.

Thank you

K. Mphoeng
PRN
Serowe Clinic

University of Fort Hare
Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700 RS.A. Phone: 040602 2232. Fax: 040653 1730. E.mail: msondlo@ufh.ac.za

To whom it may concern,

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION is a safe, natural biological process highly beneficial to man and domestic animal for its ability to reduce organic material by over 90% to water, soluble substances and gas during which action pathogens and micro organisms harmful to humans and livestock can be destroyed.

The anaerobic septic tank sanitation (toilet) system, which has been developed by Mr. John Hunter-Hardy and which operates with reduced water consumption is well known to me. It is the same, except for the constructional materials, to a system which he installed in Natal about 20 years ago.

This system was thoroughly tested by the University of Natal with which I was associated at the time and Biological and Chemical tests which were conducted on the effluent showed this to be harmless to humans and domestic animals and inoffensive in nature, provided the system was not abused or overutilised.

Since the pupils of a rural school successfully used the original system, I have no hesitation in recommending the new present system, which has been extensively modified and vastly improved in many aspects to facilitate optimum performance of the biological aspect and simplified for ease of use.

A major development of great importance is the addition of a secondary retention tank where further purification takes place and any particles in suspension are allowed to settle, become trapped and prevented from access to the ground outside.

This renders the final liquid discharged safer to be returned to the ground as it is highly unlikely that living organisms can' survive such treatment.

I have no hesitation in recommending the GENDARME sanitation system.

JHG de Villiers
Senior Lecturer