Bayakou (trade)
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A ''bayakou'' is a
sanitation worker A sanitation worker (or sanitary worker) is a person responsible for cleaning, maintaining, operating, or emptying the equipment or technology at any step of the sanitation chain.World Bank, ILO, WaterAid, and WHO (2019)Health, Safety and Dignity ...
who works to empty the
fecal sludge Fecal sludge management (FSM) (or faecal sludge management in British English) is the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end use or disposal of fecal sludge. Together, the collection, transport, treatment and end use of fecal slud ...
out of
pit latrines A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human waste in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user ...
in
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, especially in larger cities, such as
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
. The word '' bayakou'' comes from
Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...
. ''Bayakou'' are subjected to
social stigma Stigma, originally referring to the visible marking of people considered inferior, has evolved to mean a negative perception or sense of disapproval that a society places on a group or individual based on certain characteristics such as their ...
for their work in manually emptying
septic tanks A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...
and pit latrines. The more general term used for this kind of undignified practice, particularly in India, is "
manual scavenging Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for "manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or sewer or in a septic tank or a pit". Manual scavengers usually us ...
". Proper emptying of pit latrines is part of a city-wide
fecal sludge management Fecal sludge management (FSM) (or faecal sludge management in British English) is the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end use or disposal of fecal sludge. Together, the collection, transport, treatment and end use of fecal slud ...
concept.


Background

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
, with close to 3 million residents, is one of the largest cities in the world without a
sewer system Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and screen ...
. Sinks, showers and toilets have no connection to a central
sewage treatment plant Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...
. Most of the city uses
septic tanks A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...
and
pit latrines A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human waste in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user ...
. Port-au-Prince finally opened its first sewage treatment plant, Morne a Cabrit, in 2012 with a second, unfinished plant mostly abandoned.


Description

Because of the lack of infrastructure for
sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...
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. ''Bayakou'' use plastic buckets to empty pit latrines during the night. 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. Then the person in the pit hands the bucket up to another crew-member. The
human waste Human waste (or human excreta) refers to the waste products of the human digestive system, Menstruation, menses, and human metabolism including urine and Human feces, feces. As part of a sanitation system that is in place, human waste is collect ...
is put into sacks and placed into a
wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled load-bearing vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." " Ba ...
which a third person carts away. 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. Dumping waste anywhere other than in a treatment plant is illegal. Some bayakou have been arrested for transporting waste. Before entering the pit, ''bayakou'' pour floor cleaner into the pit in order to soften the
fecal sludge Fecal sludge management (FSM) (or faecal sludge management in British English) is the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end use or disposal of fecal sludge. Together, the collection, transport, treatment and end use of fecal slud ...
. Many ''bayakou'' clean the pit in the nude because the filth in the latrines will ruin their clothes and protective gear. Hazards of the job include injury from objects thrown into latrines and exposure to infectious diseases such as
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
. ''Bayakou'' and their families also face
social stigma Stigma, originally referring to the visible marking of people considered inferior, has evolved to mean a negative perception or sense of disapproval that a society places on a group or individual based on certain characteristics such as their ...
for working with
human waste Human waste (or human excreta) refers to the waste products of the human digestive system, Menstruation, menses, and human metabolism including urine and Human feces, feces. As part of a sanitation system that is in place, human waste is collect ...
.


References

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External links

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Choléra : Ignoble plongée dans les égouts de Port-au-Prince - Haïti
' (2014 Video in French) Cleaning and maintenance occupations Water supply and sanitation in Haiti