Composting process undertaken at Utopia
On the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti 2023, AURA (Eldeco Utopia), based on the adage “Any Action Is Better Than No Action,” gave the go-ahead for horticulture composting within its grounds. It all started out with a lot of hope and enthusiasm, but also with some anxiety and concerns about the project’s success. The composting area could only be finalised after extensive discussion and input from society’s active members.
A workshop for residents was conducted on 14 January where a quick introduction to the many types of composting and the distinctions between garden waste and kitchen waste composting was given before the session started. Participants who were from the neighbourhood raised questions and misgivings regarding the topic. A group of “Malis” also attended the meeting and actively helped to instal and get the grow bags ready for compost.
The composting process was as follows – Layers of soil at the base, then cow manure, and then horticulture waste gathered from our gardens, organic decomposer added to the mixture, and finally another layer of soil and dry leaves were all part of the process. The raw material and the compost bags are completely odourless and don’t attract any flies, mosquitoes, or other insects, as the composting crew had claimed. The compost bags were finally covered with soil after five days, after adding more water to the dried-up contents.
We will now have to wait and see what happens when around 25 days have passed. Here’s wishing a very happy Lohri and Makar Sankranti to all the readers.
by Lata Agarwal (Eldeco Utopia, Sector 93A)
