How do I go to the toilet in the female farm room? That's what eight old, middle-aged, young and transgender women farmers said.

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(by upstream and downstream journalist Lin Shijun / tr. by Phil Newell)

Women play an important role in agricultural production and need to adapt to the working environment in the fields, but the public knows little about their actual working conditions. In terms of the most basic physical needs, how do female farmers go to the toilet in the fields? Is there any problem of inconvenience in going to the toilet? And how is it solved? What should I do when there is no shelter in the field? Is there a need for toilets in farmland? The reporter conducted a preliminary survey and interviewed eight female farmers in Taiwan, ranging in age from their twenties to sixties, hoping to learn more about their opinions on going to the toilet.

Seeking shelter or grass is the way for many female farmers to solve the toilet problem. Photography / Lin Xiejun)

Build toilets in the fields? Elderly female farmer: "seeing ghosts"

A female farmer surnamed Hong Miaoli, who has been engaged in farming for decades, is in her sixties this year. Asked if there is a need for a toilet in the farmland, she said in surprise: "I see ghosts!" Say frankly that you need to draw water and electricity to set up a toilet, and say, "you can see it this way." "what do you think will happen to the farmland?"

She says that she only takes two minutes to go home to go to the toilet. "if you really can't, it's convenient to borrow it from your neighbor's house." Most of the female farmers around them are in their fifties or sixties, and they generally do not have the problem of menstruation or the trouble of going to the toilet. They mentioned that during their past periods: "everyone is like this when they use a cloth mat."

A female farmer in Chiayi, who is in her twenties and has been involved in family farming since childhood, says that she only needs to go home to go to the toilet during her menstrual period, otherwise it will be solved in the hidden grass. She said bluntly that she had no trouble going to the toilet and would not go home in order to go to the bathroom. "this is very troublesome and the work will be interrupted."

What about toilet paper?

In addition, with regard to the toilet paper needed to go to the toilet, most female farmers say that they will bring their own packets of tissue paper when they need it, but in fact, they do not have to use it. There are also a number of female farmers who point out that they will pack used paper towels in bags and take them home, stressing that their farmland will attach importance to cleanliness. Compared with many mountaineering sites littered with toilet paper waste, female farmers are more aware of the environmental protection of farmland.

The problem of going to the toilet, which was originally thought to be a thorny problem, was generally shared by female farmers in a generous and relaxed manner, emphasizing that there was no problem of going to the toilet. A female farmer surnamed Li in Kaohsiung respects that people of different ages may have different views on things, but she says bluntly, "(going to the toilet) is a small matter for us!" It shows that despite the problem of going to the toilet, female farmers have obviously found a solution.

The Global good Agricultural practice requires farms to prepare toilets. What do farmers think?

In the international "Global good Agricultural practices" (GLOBAL G.A.P.), farms are required to provide hand-washing facilities and toilets; however, the conditions of agricultural land in Taiwan are diverse and conditions are different, so it seems difficult to implement the "toilet Code" in ordinary small-scale farmland.

The female farmers interviewed in Chiayi said that most of the workers in nearby farmland are elderly men, and they generally have no intention to set up toilets. she also bluntly said that the construction of toilets in farmland involves drainage, tidiness and maintenance. "do you still need to hire someone to clean them?" "there's no need to build a toilet!"

On the issue of toilets, most women farmers think that the environment should be given priority. A female farmer surnamed Yang in Tainan points out that Taiwan's agricultural land is small and finely cut, so it is no longer suitable for setting up toilets. "this will damage the environment." A female farmer surnamed Miao Li Hong also believes that the toilet is small and that there is no need for construction.

The female farmer surnamed Li in Kaohsiung further said that it was gender inequality and differences in society that led women to be inculcated with the concept of "need to go to the toilet indoors." she stressed that there should be no prejudice or discrimination against the way women farmers go to the toilet. She calls for respect and tolerance of the physical needs of women farmers at work.

A fruit farmer surnamed Yang, who has obtained the certification of "Global good Agricultural practices", said that the certification requires the installation of toilets within 10 minutes or about 500 meters from the farmland. It is pointed out that I already have a mobile toilet at the junction of farmland and cargo yard, so it meets the requirements of the specification.

It may be convenient for female farmers to go to the toilet, but the waste water treatment and environmental maintenance of the toilet are problems, requiring extra money and regular cleaning. "it's really troublesome," says the fruit farmer surnamed Yang. Therefore, he mentioned that the farmers around him would sometimes solve the problem on the spot, and he also stressed that whether or not to set up toilets depends on the needs of the farmers. "it's not necessary!"

Is it possible to use ecological toilets?

However, some women farmers said that when they visited Japanese farms in the past, they saw that some farms were equipped with toilet facilities, pointing out that having toilets might increase women's willingness to farm. "(farmland toilets) can be promoted." Kaohsiung Xu surnamed female farmer said.

In the discussion of setting up toilets, a female farmer surnamed Tsai in Tainan even put forward the idea of "ecological toilets." She pointed out that it is not suitable to build cement or mobile toilets in the fields. "this will destroy the farmland!" Therefore, she suggests that it may be possible to use wastes such as bamboo, planks, canvas and plastic buckets to build more environmentally friendly "ecological toilets" to further convert human waste into organic fertilizer. However, the current regulations do not allow organic fertilizer made from human feces and urine, so she also admitted that the idea needs more communication and discussion in the future.

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