ABSTRACT
A study by Fairhead and Leach looks at traditional patterns of land use in Africa. In pre-modern Africa, villages never stayed in the one place for more than a few decades. The soils of the cropping fields would become exhausted. Villagers would shift to somewhere nearby with better soil fertility. Areas surrounding villages grew the most dense woodland vegetation in an environment that was generally dry and sparsely vegetated. In one of the author's classes a student explained what he had seen in Zambia. He was talking about composting toilets for schools in Malawi and the problems in getting the students to make use of them. The main issue was that Africans regarded it as very embarrassing to be seen walking off to the toilet. Pit toilets are a good cultural fit in rural Africa. No one has to handle the manure. If the toilet is screened by a belt of bushes or trees, it can be private.
