Managing waste One worm at a time
[Music]
more than 10 years back
we visited a city called velour in tamil
nadu
where we went to check out the
decentralized waste management
out there and there i saw huge tanks
that were converting kitchen waste into
wormy
composting with the help of earthworms
and for the first time in my life i held
these worms in
my hand and i was totally fascinated
and fell in love with him i returned
home
back to bangalore with a precious cargo
a box of earthworms i left it
out in my terrace the night and the next
morning they were all gone
looks like the early bird got the worms
this loss was only a beginning into the
fascinating world
of composting i experimented
with different kinds of composting
aerobic anaerobic vermicomposting
and also with different systems
my city bangalore generates around 5000
tons of
waste every day and i generate
around 1 kg of kitchen waste every day
we cook three meals a day and for the
past
10 years i have not shown even a single
peel
out of my home composting
is of experiential learning
and an amazing everyday action
to contribute positively to this planet
this rich organic waste usually
ends up getting trapped in the landfills
generating methane the deadly
greenhouse gas impacting the climate
change
instead of polluting this resource can
be converted
into living soil to grow our food
getting teams together to get more
people excited about composting
became a mission in our lives we did fun
things together
after we caught the composting bugs
setting up
garden litter composting models running
around searching for
cow dung waking up early in the morning
to go and sweep the roads
and bring back precious resources that’s
tree
shed in certain seasons and compost them
all
i get thousands of visitors on my
terrace to see urban composting
processes
we share our practices by conducting
workshops
demo talks road shows and standing
in stalls and events and of course using
social media
all the myths people have about
composting is being addressed
if done the right way it is earth
smelling material
and does not need too much space or time
talking trash started attracting
thousands of followers
and with my insta handlers worm rani it
created curiosity for my pose
my life got so much more meaningful than
ever before
as i shared this magical composting
journey
with others got them to experience this
important process
being a part of sw marty was incredible
it was like a team of crazy
practitioners doing everything to make
the city deal with the waste the best
way they can
once i made pot fulls of gold black gold
the next step was to start growing a
garden and i have
never ever grown a single plant in my
life till then
growing food was one of the best things
that happened to me
it gave me an access to understanding
safe food and nutrition
without chemicals and pesticides and
paved a path
towards sustainable living there are
large-scale degradation of soil
due to modern agricultural practices and
it is so important to put organic matter
back to regenerate the land i soon
became a part of a movement in bangalore
who grow food on their terraces and
balconies
they were the vibrant urban farmers
there were thousands of terrace
gardeners
getting together and learning through
sharing exchanging seeds
saplings and harvest there was a
tremendous sense of joy
as each of us learned to live more
consciously and sustainably
we at swmrt realized that it was
important to roll out campaigns
to get more people to participate in the
decentralized
models in 2016
we launched swachha graha it was
about creating three green spots in our
homes
compost grow and cook
we invited and continue to invite people
to take the one week challenge to keep
our kitchen waste
away from the landfill people got to
experience composting
and growing food in small spaces the key
to sustainable living
is with each conscious action we take to
contribute positively
towards this beautiful planet few things
that we can do
one composting at home two refusing to
buy food that’s grown with chemicals
three sourcing food that’s grown in
natural agricultural practices
cutting down on processed food are the
few actions we can take
as our health is directly connected to
the soiled health
taking responsibility of the waste we
generate could be the best gift
we can leave behind for the future my
daily mantra
i will compost all my green waste for
the rest of my life
and i invite each of you to experience
this commitment
to this beautiful planet