Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines - Guidelines for the Selection of Design Options

This Discussion Paper provides guidelines that will enable a design engineer to make a rational selection of the VIP latrine design option most appropriate to the community for which he is responsible. The designer is aiming at a technical choice that will be affordable to the householder and will give the best long-term service at the least cost. It is assumed for the purpose of this paper that a VIP latrine of some sort is the most appropriate sanitation facility for the community under consideration, and also that the reader is aware of how VIP latrines function and how they are able to control odors and insects (these details are covered in the appropriate TAG publications). What remains for the designer is to select the type of VIP latrine that is compatible with available resources as well as with the prevailing physical, sociocultural, institutional, economic and financial conditions. In doing so, special emphasis is placed on technology costs and affordability.