REPORT__Evaluating_the_potential_of_microfinance_for_sanitation_in_Tanzania_May_2013

Basic components that make up simple but improved pit latrines include (as shown below):
A pit, which is preferably lined with concrete rings;
A slab (with a lid), which can be easily cleaned and effectively separate humans from
their excreta. There are many designs for such slabs. They can be made in local
material, concrete, plastic or ferro-cement;
A superstructure, for privacy and protection from the rain, which can be built in local
materials (such as mud walls and thatch roof) or cement blocks.
Box 5: Examples of key elements for an improved pit latrine
Cement-block lined pit Ferrocement slabs
Superstructure in local materials Superstructure in bricks covered in
cement
A recent Master Thesis (Odiachi, 2010) sought to estimate investment costs in rural areas,
based on an extensive collection of cost data in 3 wards in Singida, Tabora and Manyara
regions in northern Tanzania. This analysis found considerable variations in the costs of
improved sanitation, ranging from TZS 100,000 (for a very simple Arborloo) to TZS 320,000
for a more elaborate one (with dome slab, brick walls and corrugated iron roof).
The basic investment to upgrade a basic latrine to an improved one involves buying a
concrete slab, which is put on top of the existing pit to separate humans from their excreta.
In the centres visited by Odiachi (2010), slabs were typically priced at about TZS 5000
(slightly under USD 4). The price of a slab is about the same cost as a chicken: it is deemed
that as most households own a chicken, most of them can also afford a slab. However, the
researcher noted that in certain rural areas the actual costs of producing a slab can be
significantly higher (up to TZS 33,000) due to the costs of transporting the material, for
example. Therefore, selling slabs at such a low cost may compromise the long-term viability
of artisans building such slabs.
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