Vermicomposting Session 2

This week, we decided that the vermicompost pit was more suited to another location. This pit had a mud base. As mentioned in my previous blog, the vermicompost pit has to have a solid base. Since this one did not, we had to search for something we could use that would prevent the worms from burrowing into the soil. And the best, most convenient answer? Plastic! 

Repurposed, of course. 

So we went on a hunt for any old flex we could find around the school. Sure enough, we found a huge sheet just near the school building. So we folded it in half and added it to the base of our pit.

  

Our next step was to transfer the coconut shells ('sonna' in Konkani) from the old pit to the new one. So we took our cement bags and collected the shells...

  

..and then placed them face-down in the new pit.

This is the base layer of the pit. The next layer is a mixture of dried leaves and cow dung slurry. To start, we collected dried leaves from the schoolyard, and placed them close to our pile of cow dung (sourced from a local farmer close by). 

Then we added water to break apart and soften the cow dung, and mixed it with the leaves using a khore (spade).

  
Mohammad waiting for the water to come on 

This mix was added to buttis and poured into the pit, over the coconut shell layer. This completes the first layer. It is the only layer that comprises a mixture of cow dung and dried leaves. All the other layers comprise either one or the other. 

   

Now we collected more dried leaves and covered the first layer. This layer should be significantly thick  (around 1ft). Then we added another layer of cow dung slurry. 

Collecting dried leaves for the leaf layer

  
Preparing the cow dung slurry (L), and adding it on top of the leaf layer (R)

By this time, it was already 5:15, so we decided to finish the other layers next week. We covered the pit with coconut tree leaves (chutta in Konkani) to keep the cow dung shaded, and washed all the tools. 

  

The pit now has to be watered regularly to keep it moist.

See you next week!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Designing a curriculum/ lesson plan for someone who knows nothing about designing a curriculum/ lesson plan

This process was a little daunting for me in the beginning. I don't have much experience in education and absolutely none in designing curriculums. When I got accepted to do the YouCAN Earth Educators Fellowship, and got invited to Tamil Nadu for the initiation workshop, I was certain that I'd be expected to have something of a plan in place. But all I had was a list of activities that I thought would be a fun integration of nature and waste.  Then we went for the workshop, which was easily one of the best experiences of my life. And for my curriculum, it taught me one thing - structure is important. If anything, it's important to have structure so you know how to break it.  When I left from the workshop, I had one day in Mysore to myself. And that was the first thing I did. Thought about structure. What does it mean? And also, instead of reinventing the wheel, would it be possible to take inspiration from any other well designed programmes?  That's when it hit me - use...
Read more

Session 4 - Observe

Image
This session was at a completely different pace than normal. Lots of the Eco-Club members had to go for hockey practice, so we had a small class of 6 to work with. The idea for this session was to build on the planting session last week in a fun and engaging way. We wanted to plan a session around what can be found in a garden environment, to learn about what's good for the plants we grow and what isn't.  Before the session, we had a chat within our small circle - Why did you join the Eco-Club?, What do you like about nature? We had the chance to have a much more candid conversation considering the smaller number. We got to learn that Mohammad S. and Valencio both catch snakes. Valencio said that he doesn't like that his parents kill snakes when they catch them, and he tells them not to, but they don't listen. Mohammad also grows vegetables in his house. So far he's grown turmeric in his kitchen garden. He had 2 coconuts in his bag to give to his friend for Dussehra...
Read more