We’ve hired our old friend Ben Osterhaupt to build an enclosure and an air vent for our new odorless, waterless indoor toilet. It’s a new technology, and it’s spreading all over the country as water shortages and other environmental issues break out everywhere.

Ben did the restoration work fixing up Maria’s Studio when we moved. It had been a deteriorating toolshed.

He’s also a gifted carpenter and builder. He and Maria figured out where to put the toilet – I couldn’t understand anything they said. It’s going into a corner of our bedroom; Ben is building a wooden enclosure around it and also connecting it to electricity so a fan/vent can keep the air flowing.

The toilet itself is odorless. We will use peat moss or other absorbables (there are many kinds) to remove the waste once or twice a month.  We just have to remove the waste bag. The waste can be placed in a compost pile or fertilized gardens. This new toilet has been used in camps, farmhouses, and private country cottages for years. It doesn’t need electricity or power; the vent is for indoor use and to remove any initial odors or gases.

We will need a long-term battery to power the fan, which goes on and off automatically, depending on the air intake in the enclosure.

It’s a bit awkward writing about our toilet planning, but I know there is a lot of interest. This is something new and rapidly spreading.

Our Nature’s Head compost toilet costs $1,200. I have the feeling it’s the future. It’s great to have Ben back here working with us. He’s the best. Bud fell madly in love with him, so he’ll have company when he works. He’s also going to help Maria insulate her studio for the winter.

We were talking about building a second bathroom upstairs, but it turned out to be too complicated and expensive in an old farmhouse. The plumbing would be a nightmare, and the foundation would have to be drilled.

The project is exciting. It will keep us from going up and down to the bathroom at night and also help us as we work hard to help the environment and honor Mother Earth.

Ben and Maria figured out how the enclosure should be built; he’s getting the lumber and coming back in a week or so. We are eager to figure out how it works.