Wherever human beings live, a toilet is as important as where people eat and sleep. Every home in OlKalou had a latrine at the furthest corner of their compound with a well beaten path leading to it. It had to be a good distance from the living quarters to keep the odor away. We did not know anybody who had a flushing toilet back in OlKalou, even in town.
Pit Latrines were everywhere. Homes, schools, churches and common places. Not all pit latrines were created equal. There was a huge difference in how they were constructed and maintained. Some homes had their latrines without a door. They hang an old sisal sack at the entrance. It was up to the occupant to keep an eye out for anybody who may approach to use the latrine thinking it was unoccupied.
There were also some very scary ones with huge gaps on their wooden floors you could see everything in the deep hole below. Just stepping into a latrine like that with the wood squeaking under your feet was enough to make you want to go relief yourself in the bushes than risk falling into the pit.
There is nothing pretty to talk about on this subject. Everybody has their traumatizing memories on this subject that makes us all appreciate modern advancement that gave us flushing toilets. In Nyandarua though, most homes still have pit latrines, but, there is a huge difference from what they were back then and what families have constructed recently. With high food production in Nyandarua, and its residents eating to their fill every day, those latrines the Pioneer Parents constructed have since filled up and have been decommissioned.
With better financial standing, and more enlightenment, most homes have constructed decent pit latrines that are well maintained. Most families have a bathing room attached to the latrine, using the same pit for bath water drainage making the latrines less stinky. This is a topic I do not wish to discuss any further. Moving on:
