114 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC • AUGUST 2017
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the money?” He shakes his head, incredulous.
Even in rural areas Wilson doesn’t see the point
in promoting pit latrines. “More latrines will only
lead to more coerced manual cleaning,” he says.
Besides being expensive, however, flush toilets
and sewers require running water, which many
parts of India still don’t have. As the country
develops, such amenities may become universal—
but that day is surely decades away. In the mean-
time millions more children will have died. The
question is how best to reduce that number.
Technology can help. Waterless, solar-
powered toilets that are under development will
sterilize the waste they collect, making it safe to
use on crops or as charcoal. A cheaper, simpler
solution, available now, involves composting
latrines that have two pits spaced about a yard
apart. After the first pit fills, waste is diverted into
the second pit. Long before it fills, the contents of
the first pit dry out, pathogens die, and the crum-
bly remains—high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium—can be safely applied to farm fields.