Warning: Don’t read this post if you have just eaten or are about to eat. It could cause nausea and loss of appetite._
Our neighbors were building and there was a lot of sawdust lying around. I saw her making charcoal and she called to me, “Hay muchísima serrín si necesitas!”
I yelled back, “Si, tenemos muchísimo shit!”
She answered, “Claro que si!!!” And we laugh.
We were kind of done with the poo buckets. Correction: Our oldest daughter who had come to live with us at the onset of the pandemic was done with them. To prevent any digestive dysfunction on her part, we decided to install a biodigester flushing toilet.
Originally we were worried about water consumption and flushing toilets. Now that we have lived up here on the land for two years, with 15000L of rainwater storage, we have never really come close to running out.
Our conclusion after a two-year analysis of our shit patterns and water consumption:
We could get a flushing toilet. The resounding joy was felt throughout the house by all. (Remember, Chris and I are masters at setting the bar low.)
There is something to be set about dealing with your own shit. It’s been an experience in cleaning out buckets and looking at our shit, and of course smelling it. Chris was the one dealing with all the shit but when he busted his knee for two months last year, the responsibility rested on my shoulders and it was not pretty.
By late August, we had our bathrooms tiled and finished and the final task was the toilet installation. It truly looked like a porcelain gift sent from heaven. I was still a little paranoid about water consumption and I gently reminded the kids to flush only in certain situations.
This process made me realize how we tend to turn away from the dirt and grime and waste of life. Dealing with our family’s shit empowered us because if we could do that, we _really_could do anything. Our choices have not only pushed our edges but also made us confront that things that we didn’t really want to see.
What if we all looked at the landfills, the sewage, and our own crap? Would that help us reset to find appreciation in the small luxuries of life like a flushing toilet and to make more conscious choices or look at what makes us uneasy?
Our journey into the jungle was not meant as an escape or a distraction. It was meant as a challenge in creativity and resilience and a rare opportunity to deal with our shit once and for all.
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