Y’all, please forgive me. Today this blog will include missionaries in Africa, latrines and, believe it or not, the free market. It’s all to prove how intelligent were our forefathers in accepting an economic system that serves aviation so well in the USA.
Yesterday I witnessed a presentation about latrines—of all things—by a missionary who serves an African nation that won’t be named, lest I overstep my boundaries and offend nations, rather than just individual people.
The missionary is encouraging natives to build—and use—latrines. This is not a high priority among people who have never had latrines before, but ranks high on the list of saving lives in that country and worldwide.
First, they tried building latrines, believing the natives would delight in using them and would build more. Didn’t happen. Then they decided to “sell” latrine usage. Latrines were built and used by some until they (the latrines) were full. Said full latrines were closed and the contents—we won’t draw pictures—were composted for a year. Then fruit trees were planted in the compost. Lo and behold, those trees grew faster than surrounding trees and produced much more fruit. The natives noticed, and all of a sudden there was a demand for building—and using—more latrines.
(BTW. The composted latrines with trees are called “arborloos.” I assumed that was an African word. It is instead a combo of “arbor” for the tree and “loo” for the latrine.)
The natives didn’t want latrines, but they wanted fruit. Village leaders took much of the responsibility for building—and getting people to use—latrines.
Wonderful! The free market works regardless of location and history. Airports—and all of the aviation industry in this country—have learned to thrive by providing what people want. That includes parking, concessions, cleanliness, escalators, signage, air conditioning, and a myriad of other services.
BTW, there is one snag in the African latrine market. The UN folks, in their infinite wisdom, are opposed to people eating fruit from trees fertilized by human excrement. The missionaries, therefore, cannot utilize arborloos in areas in which the UN has a say. This is in spite of scientific research that has proved repeatedly that after a year of composting, there is absolutely no bacteria in the compost, much less in the tree or the fruit.
That’s a shame.
