Words by Abi Scaife
‘Living Loos’ have been launched at Glastonbury Festival.
Sorry - what?
Living Loos, the brainchild of WaterAid, will be brightening up the Glastonbury toilet adventure with their bright - and edible! - plants. The toilets will sit amongst a garden of fruit and vegetable plants, growing bananas and citrus fruits, that are commonly cultivated by farmers in the areas where WaterAid does most of its work.
There is a fully-functioning composting loo, surrounded by four other toilets filled with plant life, to highlight the statistic - one in five of the world’s population are currently without a decent toilet.
Okay - but why?
The Living Loos are designed to raise awareness of water scarcity, the need for clean water and the need for adequate plumbing across the globe.
While festival-goers relieve themselves, they will have the chance to read charity slogans from many of the Glastonbury performers including Debbie Harry, Doc Brown and Becky Hill.
This toilet garden is raising awareness of WaterAid’s campaign ‘Our Climate Fight’. The campaign calls on the UK Government to make sure everyone has decent toilets and clean water to be able to withstand a changing climate.
You can find out more about WaterAid’s Our Climate Fight campaign and add your voice to the petition, which will be shared with UK leaders ahead of COP28.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
WaterAid. WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. Find out more here.
Charity: Water. This is a global nonprofit organisation on a mission to end the water crisis by bringing clean and safe water and sanitation programs to all. Learn more here.
Water.org. This charity was founded by Gary White and Matt Damon to bring water and sanitation to the world, and to make it safe, accessible, and cost-effective. Support them here.
This article aligns with the UN SDG Good Health and Wellbeing.
