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An Arborloo is a simple type of dry toilet consisting of a pit (like a pit latrine, but less deep), concrete slab, superstructure (toilet house or outhouse) to provide privacy and possibly a ring beam to protect the pit from collapsing.
The concept of the arborloo toilet is to collect feces in a pit, and subsequently to grow a tree such as a fruiting tree in this very fertile soil.
The arborloo works by temporarily putting the slab and superstructure above a shallow pit while this pit fills. When the pit is nearly full, the superstructure and slab is moved to a newly dug pit and the old pit is covered with the earth got by digging the new pit and left to compost. The old site uses a bed for fruit tree or other, which is preferably planted during the rainy season.
The arborloo can be considered a simple form of composting toilet. In using the nutrient-rich soil of a retired pit, the arborloo in effect treats feces as a resource rather than a waste product.
Design
The defecation pit may be circular or square and this may depend on the slab and superstructe. A circular pit is less likely to collapse. The pit of the arborloo is shallow (between 1-1.5 meter).
If the pit is dug by hand it must have a diameter of at least 0.9 meters to accommodate effective digging. The pit should not be wider than the slab and must allow for 0.1 meter bearing around the edge.