Meschke, ScottPrice, Andrew Francis2019-10-152019-10-152019-10-152019Price_washington_0250O_20512.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/44662Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Decentralized compost sanitation represents a potential sustainable sanitation solution that could limit fecal contamination at the source while also complementing the rural, agricultural lifestyle of rural areas without access to reliable sanitation infrastructure. Papoga, a rural community in Uganda’s West Nile Region, is rich in the materials necessary to harness and accelerate this natural process that breaks down pathogens in human waste while creating organic fertilizer. This qualitative descriptive study seeks to gain insight into the local perceptions of decentralized thermophilic compost sanitation in Papoga and its associated health benefits. Specifically, this paper intends to answer the following questions built upon distinct aims: 1. How has compost sanitation been marketed in Papoga? 2. Is compost sanitation protective of public health in Papoga? 3. What are the drivers and barriers to compost sanitation in Papoga? This paper suggests that demand for compost sanitation was spread throughout Papoga organically while its inherent benefits acted as their own incentives. Introducing compost sanitation via the schools provided a semi-controlled environment to introduce compost to the area, while the school children acted as the local messengers bringing word of compost home to parents. Compost sanitation is associated with better health as evidenced by the reduced STH prevalence in accordance with the timing of compost’s launch into the schools. In addition, recorded temperatures of active compost piles suggest that many common pathogens and parasites would not be able to withstand the heat generated during the natural thermophilic process. As with any community, the drivers of compost sanitation in Papoga vary from person to person and include yielded fertilizer, comfort, and health benefits among other things. The barriers of compost sanitation in Papoga also vary from person to person and are associated more with the accessibility of the tools and information necessary for management of compost rather than with fear or mistrust of the technology.application/pdfen-USnoneCompostSanitationSTHThermophilicToiletWASHPublic healthEnvironmental healthSoil sciencesGlobal HealthThesis