A bayakou is a sanitation worker who works to empty the fecal sludge out of pit latrines in Haiti, especially in larger cities, such as Port-au-Prince. [1] The word bayakou comes from Haitian Creole. [2] [3] Bayakou are subjected to social stigma for their work in manually emptying septic tanks and pit latrines. [4]
The more general term used for this kind of undignified practice, particularly in India, is " manual scavenging". Proper emptying of pit latrines is part of a city-wide fecal sludge management concept.
Port-au-Prince, with close to 3 million residents, is one of the largest cities in the world without a sewer system. [5] Sinks, showers and toilets have no connection to a central sewage treatment plant. [6] Most of the city uses septic tanks and pit latrines. [5] Port-au-Prince finally opened its first sewage treatment plant, Morne a Cabrit, in 2012 with a second, unfinished plant mostly abandoned. [6]
Because of the lack of infrastructure for sewage removal, the city turns to other means. The bayakou in Port-au-Prince are paid to come annually to empty the pits of full pit latrines. [7]
Bayakou use plastic buckets to empty pit latrines during the night. [8] The bayakou work as a crew. One part of the bayakou team climbs through the toilet's squat hole into the pit under the latrine and fills the bucket. [8] Then the person in the pit hands the bucket up to another crew-member. [8] The human waste is put into sacks and placed into a wheelbarrow which a third person carts away. [4] The waste is normally dumped on the ground, ravines or sometimes into vacuum trucks run by private companies who will take the waste to the treatment plant. [8] [9] Dumping waste anywhere other than in a treatment plant is illegal. [10] Some bayakou have been arrested for transporting waste. [11]
Before entering the pit, bayakou pour floor cleaner into the pit in order to soften the fecal sludge. [8] Many bayakou clean the pit in the nude because the filth in the latrines will ruin their clothes and protective gear. [8] [9] Hazards of the job include injury from objects thrown into latrines and exposure to infectious diseases such as cholera. [9]
Bayakou and their families also face social stigma for working with human waste. [10] [9]
A bayakou is a sanitation worker who works to empty the fecal sludge out of pit latrines in Haiti, especially in larger cities, such as Port-au-Prince. [1] The word bayakou comes from Haitian Creole. [2] [3] Bayakou are subjected to social stigma for their work in manually emptying septic tanks and pit latrines. [4]
The more general term used for this kind of undignified practice, particularly in India, is " manual scavenging". Proper emptying of pit latrines is part of a city-wide fecal sludge management concept.
Port-au-Prince, with close to 3 million residents, is one of the largest cities in the world without a sewer system. [5] Sinks, showers and toilets have no connection to a central sewage treatment plant. [6] Most of the city uses septic tanks and pit latrines. [5] Port-au-Prince finally opened its first sewage treatment plant, Morne a Cabrit, in 2012 with a second, unfinished plant mostly abandoned. [6]
Because of the lack of infrastructure for sewage removal, the city turns to other means. The bayakou in Port-au-Prince are paid to come annually to empty the pits of full pit latrines. [7]
Bayakou use plastic buckets to empty pit latrines during the night. [8] The bayakou work as a crew. One part of the bayakou team climbs through the toilet's squat hole into the pit under the latrine and fills the bucket. [8] Then the person in the pit hands the bucket up to another crew-member. [8] The human waste is put into sacks and placed into a wheelbarrow which a third person carts away. [4] The waste is normally dumped on the ground, ravines or sometimes into vacuum trucks run by private companies who will take the waste to the treatment plant. [8] [9] Dumping waste anywhere other than in a treatment plant is illegal. [10] Some bayakou have been arrested for transporting waste. [11]
Before entering the pit, bayakou pour floor cleaner into the pit in order to soften the fecal sludge. [8] Many bayakou clean the pit in the nude because the filth in the latrines will ruin their clothes and protective gear. [8] [9] Hazards of the job include injury from objects thrown into latrines and exposure to infectious diseases such as cholera. [9]
Bayakou and their families also face social stigma for working with human waste. [10] [9]