Compost Production to Find Alternative Sources of Organic Fertilizer

Compost production aimed to find alternative sources of organic fertilizer for local farmers. It involved the development of composting units in some central areas of the SBR and in private gardens. This required practical training of landowners and the development of Composting is a biological process by which microorganisms decompose organic matter. It could be done in two ways: anaerobic composting and aerobic composting. Aerobic composting involves organisms that need oxygen for their living, while anaerobic composting involves organisms that can survive in the absence of oxygen. The key condition for any composting design is the type of composting that must be used. The aerobic composting, for example, necessitates the entrance of oxygen to the composting pile. The process adopted in this project is aerobic composting. The raw materials used are remains of pruning forest trees, adding cow and chicken manure from farms in surrounding villages. In addition to making use of the shreds, this activity yields an alternative organic fertilizer. Some educational materials could eventually be developed. It is worth noting that two commercial shredding machines were bought to enable cutting the woody material.

Make the necessary pre-testing then shred all the material other than the animal manure, and mix with the bobcat. Divide the plot into piles (each pile is equivalent to approximately to the material of 3 working days. Turn the first pile over, turn another pile over the first one, and fill the empty space again. Each pile is to be turned to the area next to it and replaced by the pile just before it. Continue until the piles are turned at least 5 times. Move the finished compost to the storage area, ready for distribution

Testing and analysis have been very important in the process, hence the necessity of resorting to experts.

Another lesson is that people got gradually interested in the activity when they realized that it was useful for them, and became fully engaged. The project, which started as a small testing area in one village, is now replicaated in at least two others.