The effort and cost of building latrines suitable for tough physical contexts – or rebuilding latrines multiple times – may ultimately lead to demotivation and progress slipping. Lack of knowledge and skills available locally amongst artisans and masons can influence latrine durability, especially when dealing with challenging conditions such as collapsing or rocky soils. Technical and physical challenges can be grouped broadly in the following categories:
- Disaster or climate affected or disaster-prone areas and communities (e.g. flood affected, drought affected, landslide affected, tropical storm prone) that may need more resilient facilities
- Water-side areas (e.g. coastal, island, river or lake-side communities)
- Water-scarce areas (e.g. arid and semi-arid lands)
- Challenging ground conditions (e.g. rocky ground, sandy or collapsible soils, high groundwater tables)
- Material–scarce areas (e.g. inaccessible or remote communities with few local materials available for construction, maintenance or replacement of facilities)
We have produced practitioner voices stories on challenging contexts, including stories on tough physical environments.
