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Dear Pandit ji,
Two types of wastes are generated in homes – one is fresh vegetable waste that is thrown as cut-offs or rotten, and another is cooked food thrown away as waste. Can you kindly advice me about how to convert this into manure? And whether both these types of wastes can be mixed, or they need to be used separately?
Reader
jothibasker_69@yahoo.com
Dear Reader,
Vermicomposting is a good way of getting rid of biodegradable kitchen waste. Millions of tonnes of food waste are buried or burned each year all over the world at a great financial and environmental cost. But, the same can be recycled with the help of worms. It turns many types of kitchen waste into nutritious soil for plants. When worm compost is added to the soil, it boosts the nutrients available to plants and enhances soil structure.
Unfortunately, you cannot use food leftover (cooked), because too much oil or fat can hinder the breathing of the worms used in vermicomposting (as they breathe through their skin). They do not like spicy and heavily salted food, and onions and garlic. Moreover, they cannot break down bones and synthetic material.
Vermicomposting method
Make a worm bin
The bin should be about a foot deep, allowing worms to live near the surface to breathe, and must have a tight-fitting lid to keep out pests and lock moisture.
Place the bin in a shaded area, away from direct sunlight and rain. Best temperature is 40-80°F.
Make the bedding
Worms need bedding material to burrow and to bury the garbage. You may use shredded newspaper (no coloured pages or slick paper), cardboard, or dry leaves as bedding.
Moisten materials and fill the container with them. Add a little sand or soil to provide necessary grit for the worm’s digestion of food.
Add worms
The most commonly used composting worms are Brandling worms (Eisenia foetida) and Red worms (Lumbricus rubellus).
Feed the worms
Feed the waste to the worms.
In less than three months, there would be little or no original bedding visible in the bin, and the contents would be brown coloured (worm castings).
Dear Pandit ji,
The 15 November 2005 issue of Gobar Times ‘Carbon Rush’ neatly talks about global warming and currently prevailing carbon credit. So, I wanted some suggestions from you about what can I do with my friends and our eco-friendly club to motivate people to adopt clean and non-polluting methods to save environment.
Kshitija Kulkarni
Student, Kolhapur (Maharashtra)
Dear Kshitija ji,
All of us can do our bits to save the environment. The most crucial step is to bring a change in our lifestyles. One may start from “simple” measures like using less energy by switching off the lights and fans when leaving the room. Or take bus or ride bicycle to go to school!
To motivate other people, you may start an awareness campaign. Use street-plays and skits to spread green messages. Or take them on eco-tours around the city. Show them where the city gets water from, or how much effluent a factory releases into the surrounding land and water bodies. Tell them about the state of environment in the entire country. Provide them with facts and figures (which you can easily find in Gobar Times). Finally, share your experience of “green lifestyle” with them.
You may also write to Gobar Times, and share your views, ideas and opinions with all our readers.
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Dear Pandit ji,
This is in response to saving a very high quality of school, which is symbolic of brave Sikh soldiers. (Refer: Heritage versus Helipad, June 1-15, 2008)
Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) is the most adorned building in the world. Its management follows practices such as Langar (prasad community kitchen), single queue for worship and other facilities the same way as it was 400 years ago. The effort is very commendable.
But, it seems that the management is not conscious about principles laid out by the founder of Sikh faith Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. They do understand the directives laid out by him for the blessings of nature in the form of air, water, sunshine and mother earth but hardly practice these.
The building of Harimandir has Parikarma (corridor) around the Sarover (sacred tank), which can accommodate thousands of worshippers. The serenity of the campus is supreme. Yet the management is under the influence of regio-political rulers who always push and influence them grind their own axes. The rulers do profess Sikhism, but their psyche is not different from the psyche of any Alexander of yore in selfishness. The attraction for ego and money growth makes them copy the western concepts of living, which are injurious to ecology of the planet. Helipads, flyovers, parking for vehicles are on their priority list rather than education and the principles laid out by Guruji.
As per the Shaloka of Guruji , the role of air, water, mother earth and day and night cycles have been explicitly outlined for the vibrating life on the planet. Due to these agencies of nature the whole universe is playing the game of life. This Shaloka is sung at congregations held in Gurudwaras all over the world. But these selfish managers at Harimandir Sahib do not follow the directives of this Shaloka outlined for the welfare of all living beings.
The archeological department of India removed all polluting agencies from the precincts of Taj Mahal at Agra to add more quality to the environment of the famous mausoleum. The managers at Harimandir Sahib are hardly bothered about this aspect. The three-wheelers, cars, mo-bikes belching black smoke and pollutants have access to yard in front of the Darshni Deorii (Sight Gate). These monster machines play havoc with the serene and healthy atmosphere of the sacred shrine.
The damage to the campus of Harimandir by invaders and rulers during the last 400 years is of lesser intensity than what our own rulers have planned to do to the ecology of the space by building flyover. Not only will the marble and gold plating deteriorate due to sulphur fumes from exhaust of vehicles, it will affect the health of pilgrims.
We, the eco conscious group consider it a part of the worship to walk or cycle to the shrine rather than ride on power vehicles. A true Sikh understands it. The past rulers did try to damage the Harimandir, yet it rose from its ashes. But our own present day rulers are misbehaving to create perennial agencies of damage. Sikh intellectuals like Prof. Gurtej Singh have requested them to avoid building such monstrous flyovers.
The demolition of the Memorial school to remember the brave Sikh soldiers is likely to smash a blow on the brave people. The work on the flyover and helipad should be stopped, otherwise the whole setup will attract stupid drivers to reach the Darshni Deohri in powered vehicles resulting in severe pollution and adding ugliness.
A better scheme would be to build a huge parking lot near the Taranwala Bridge of the Upper Bari Doab Canal on NH No.1, and then provide cycles, pedal cabs to reach the Deohri. An aerial ropeway could be laid for children and ladies to reach the shrine. These VIPs should park their cars and helicopters at this region, and then walk, use cycles, and pedal cabs or use aerial ropeways to reach the Darshni Deorhi. There are capable architects among Sikhs who are reputed for their considerations for ecology.
The true followers of Sikh faith follow the three directives laid out by Guruji - honest work, sharing the earnings with needy, and meditating on Naam (name). May be the management wishes to oblige the NRIs who bring gold for the dome. They need automobiles to reach everywhere. The management is trying to provide them with western facilities loaded with stars. It seems that the NRI gold has dazzled them to deviate from Gurbani.
May Waheguru bless these selfish rulers of low intellect with a little bit of wisdom for following the directives laid out by the Guruji for preserving ecology and natural processes of the planet. His opinions based on sound logic in his Bani identify him as the eradicator of the fog of ignorance. May this fog get eliminated for these rulers and managers. Amen.
B. Singh
Via e-mail
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