Welcome Joe Jenkins, Author of the Humanure Handbook!

Hi Joe and thanks for writing the Humanure Handbook.  I'm currently about 6 months into composting humanure on my property, thanks to you.  

Just to be clear, while the book image is the third edition, you've got the fourth edition out now, is that right?

Welcome to Permies, Joe! I once told a teenager that I got into chickens for "a really shitty reason" - I wanted the manure for my garden. Then I ran into your book... unfortunately although we're doing some urine diversion, we're still using septic. I need to find a discrete location for an alternative, since the local Dept. of Making us Sad doesn't approve of your excellent options. Hmmm... maybe I'll win a copy of your book and convince the mayor to read it!

Welcome to Permies : )

I look forward to learning lots about composting this week.

Hi Joe! Welcome to permies. Reading your original book was mind blowing. It put so many pieces together for me. Thank you for all your hard work!

Timothy Markus wrote:Hi Joe and thanks for writing the Humanure Handbook.  I'm currently about 6 months into composting humanure on my property, thanks to you.  

Just to be clear, while the book image is the third edition, you've got the fourth edition out now, is that right?

I just found a picture of the fourth edition here https://humanurehandbook.com/store/Humanure_Handbook.html. And, it looks like it's also up for sale right now on amazon

I updated the picture in the first post...of course, for some reason it won't let both pictures be side-by-side any more, but at least it's up to date.

Thanks!

Welcome, Joe.  Thank you for being such an inspiration!

I am glad to see you here, Joe! I am wondering if the system you describe can also be used for dog poop? It'd be wonderful to figure out how to make positive use of it. They eat mostly fresh raw meats and bones, and cooked sweet potatoes. Thank you!

One of my favourite books! And I've been an evangelist for it, too. Joe Jenkins, I'm your biggest fan!

Hey Joe, thanks for the book it has been a great resource.

Welcome Joe!

Hi Joe and welcome to Permies! We're glad you're here!

Welcome Joe! You have apparently inspired many many people to save flushing water and simplify their plumbing so to speak.And make fine soil. Thanks for all you do.

Hello Joe, Welcome to Permies!  Thanks for taking some time out of your schedule to join us! :)

This practice is ok if you are sure of your waste source, if some one gas aids, or hepitis ci, watch out...not mention worse things,. Not in my food chain

Welcome Joe! I read your book years ago. It must’ve been the first edition. Looking forward to reading the 4th edition.

Thank you Joe for coming by. I haven't read your book, so it's something I need to do as I move closer to a permaculture lifestyle.

Welcome to permies, Joe

Hello, Joe! I followed your work a few years ago and found it quite interesting. I didn't realize that there were new editions to your book - glad to know it!

Welcome Joe, just starting to read your ebook version. fascinating. thanks James

Hi Joe! and welcome!
Your book rescued us from years of digging pits for the outhouse.  
After that we used a bucket system for 15 years successfully and just in the last few, after moving to this little town, have given it up.  
We still discuss how to incorporate buckets on our one acre here.
Back in the day, this challenge was often dinner table discussion among our peers

Welcome to permies.com Joe. I've been experimenting with this over the last 8 months, after finally realizing my grandfather hadn't be talking sh*t when he used to tell us that he had always done this for our orchard. As a teen I thought he was too gross to listen to. Oh, how the worm has turned - literally and figuratively I have wholeheartedly subscribed to this use as well as other types of poop (except cats! after all poo is poo and is eventually designed to breaks down into soil. I hadn't realized you had another book out - bring it on!!! and thank you for making the process easier.

Welcome Joe!

Hello Joe it has been a while. I am at 5 1/2 years without a flush toilet in my house, after replacing my septic system two years before that, so I feel qualified to comment on this topic. I found that all of the statements in the book about odour, covering and composting proved to be accurate in practise. I highly recommend the book as a resource for anyone wanting an alternative to traditional sanitary solutions. I also found that the portability of the toilet was handy during renovation and sickness as well as during hydro outages. It is amazing how little water is needed in a house on any given period of time without a flush toilet. Not a system for everyone but it has worked well for me. Thanks Joe for the enlightenment.

Welcome! I love your idea and want to incorporate it on our little homestead.......however the husband is NOT convinced that this is a good idea.  How do you suggest overcoming objections to this process??!!

Welcome Joe!  We love this idea and are hoping to use it on a homestead we're in the process of planning!

Welcome Joe. And Happy Holidays to all! I am visiting family and friends and sad at all the water I am using in homes with flush toilets (tho I do get to NOT flush just for pee). :-(

Hi Joe, Ive been humanuring for nearly 10 years.  Thank you so much for developing such a simple and useful solution for dealing with our bodily excreta (NOT WASTE!) while  producing valuable garden fertilizer.

I have found to be my favourite cover material are wood pellets.  They are dry, clean, cheap and widely available.

Hey Joe!
Thank for your work

Welcome Joe.  I have a copy of your excellent handbook and got my husband to make a composting toilet for our motor home.  It works really well and thank you for the information.  I'm working on him to see how great one would be in the house, but no luck so far.  It's the way of the future though, if we want to re-cycle the minerals in our diets.

Welcome here Joe!
I have good experiences with composting toilets at (permaculture style) camping sites.
I experimented a little with a temporary composting toilet in my back yard, just outside the back door. Because my garden is small and in a densely populated neighbourhood (and I rented this place) I don't dare to do it year round. That would probably be too much humanure in my compost heap

As I dream of homesteading (outside of urbansteading) this may be the answer to how to handle 1 and 2 concerns. I will be reading this book when I get a chance. Thank you Joe for making this information readily available.

Welcome, Joe, to Permies! So glad you are here on this forum.  I read a previous edition of your book, have a SunMar composting toilet which is working beautifully 15 years on, with no smell, no flies.
I am very much looking forward to reading the latest edition.  
We need to do more Humanure, and less sewage sludge composting. Smaller, decentralized systems are the way to go for sustainability.

I have both the 3rd and 4th edition books and the update was a good one, if you have the older version I recommend getting the 4th edition too. Plus I ordered it from Joe's site vs Amazon when it was being released so he signed it too!

The book does a great job of explaining the simple process and making it simple to succeed. Some are concerned about the "ick factor" that Joe calls fecophobia but you're no more likely to dirty yourself emptying the bucket into your compost than you are when wiping, and the same solution (washing your hands) works great. I have a dog and local rodents/raccoons and using chicken wire on the sides with t-post for corners has worked great. Your compost pile looks like... a compost pile, and doesn't smell if done correctly so no neighbor issues. No smell indoors either beyond the smell of the cover material, I use free mulch from the city compost center and run it through a 1/2"x1/2" screen to get the tiny bits as cover material inside, and the 1-3" bits left over and used as cover on the outdoor pile. When I was actively using it, the pile would hit 120-130F for a couple days after each deposit, killing off all pathogens.

It's a great system, I highly recommend it for a composting toilet system that costs almost nothing.

Jay Angler wrote:... since the local Dept. of Making us Sad doesn't approve of your excellent options. Hmmm... maybe I'll win a copy of your book and convince the mayor to read it!

Jay - at the end of Joe's book he offers to send a free copy to any Dept. of Making us Sad, at your request, just to provide them with the data!  Fortunately, the young woman who just became the Construction Officer in our town built her own tiny house which is parked on her family's farm, and she has a compost toilet!  She has a commercial one so I might ask for her to receive a copy just so she doesn't freak out when she sees our low-tech "Jenkins".  We've been using it in our camper exactly as outlined in the book with no problems.  Now that we're building a cabin we see no reason to change even though we're almost done installing a coded septic system.  We've got quite DIY friendly officials around here so we are installing the septic ourselves using engineering from the local N.Y. Dept. of Health.  Total pain in the ass to do considering the use it will get, but we'll use it for graywater during winter when our ground is frozen solid.

Joe - thanks for the information you've been providing for decades!  I read your book cover-to-cover and highly recommend it.  So since I've got my own copy to lend out, I'll pass on being in the drawing to win another copy.

Hi Joe, thank you for your efford and activity towards knowledge about compost toilets and what it needs for us humans to be able to close the circle between growing food amd giving back to the earth.
Really inspiring.

Greeting Joe,

Thanks so much for your book!  I've been using the composting toilet after reading it for so many years now I don't remember how long it's been.  Could it be over 10 years?  The whole idea of recycling nutrients via this method was eye opening and really shifted my thinking.

Hey Joe, thanks so much for being part of this forum!

I remember finding your book in my public library years ago and being intrigued with the concept of "humanure." I still have yet to experiment at all, but my goal is to one day live with my wife and 5 children in a yurt (or several), and composting as much waste as possible will be an important aspect of daily life. I'd be interested to know what you, or anyone else, would have to say in regard to starting out small with children in a more urban environment, in preparation for eventual off-grid living.

Warm Welcomes to my Guru-Guru :).

Application of the closing the nutrients cycle techniques has stigmatized me among the allotment gardens bevy at the very beginning.
But I  translated the crux parts of the Humaure handbook and placed it in my toilet.
The living and working example garnered me some kudos later on.

It is all Thanks to you Maestro!

Your  research and example are a wonderful inspiration. It should be required reading for every health inspector.  Do you still send out free copies to local health inspectors on request?