page_title: Pit latrine
section_title: User experiences
hierarchical_section_title: Pit latrine / Society and culture / User experiences
caption_attribution_description: English: Ambira Boys High School, Nyanza Province, Kenya
context_page_description: A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human feces in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort. Pit latrines can be built to function without water or they can have a water seal. When properly built and maintained, pit latrines can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from open defecation. This decreases the transfer of pathogens between feces and food by flies. These pathogens are major causes of infectious diarrhea and intestinal worm infections. Infectious diarrhea resulted in about 700,000 deaths in children under five years old in 2011 and 250 million lost school days. Pit latrines are a low-cost method of separating feces from people.
  A pit latrine generally consists of three major parts: a hole in the ground, a concrete slab or floor with a small hole, and a shelter. The shelter is also called an outhouse. The pit is typically at least three meters deep and one meter across. The hole in the slab should not be larger than 25 centimeters to prevent children falling in.
context_section_description: Pit latrines may or may not be an enjoyable experience to use. Problems may occur when the pit latrine is shared by too many people, is not cleaned daily and not emptied when the pit is full. In such cases, flies and odour can be a major nuisance. Also, pit latrines are usually dark places which are difficult to keep clean. Often, handwashing facilities are missing. For these reasons, shared pit latrines can be very uncomfortable to use in developing countries.
caption: Poorly maintained pit latrine at Ambira Boys High School, Nyanza Province, Kenya
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