Using Earthworms to Manage Waste and Unearth Livelihoods
The bright yellow sun shines below on Mr. Devendra Prasad Niure Jaisi’s agricultural field, as he strides towards his vermicompost bin.
Vermicompost is essentially about using biodegradable waste and turning them into organic manure, as the worms ingest the food and expel compost. The worm castings contain high amounts of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. This then not only helps produce organic compost that are effective in boosting farm productivity, but also helps manage waste at the household level. These vermicompost bins are filled with decomposing vegetable including food waste, soil, cow dung, hay and earthworms. And these little tube-shaped animals that sprawl across the vermicompost pit are the key to his healthy field.
Better than chemical fertilizers
“This vermicompost has worked wonders for our produce,” Mr. Jaisi says proudly as he points towards his land and vermicompost bin. He recalls, “My wife, Sita, heard of a training that was being provided to smallholder famers on vermicompost. She told me about this training and I immediately applied.” Sita concurs, “We were intrigued by the idea of using organic compost that would supposedly be more efficacious that urea in compost, which is what we had been using. If we can yield better crops with this organic manure, it will certainly become our preferred method of composting.”
But was it better?
The vermicompost may take over three months to materialize, depending on factors such as the number of earthworms in the bin, and their dietary intake. It has been around a month since the Niure family started vermicomposting.
Sita explains, “We wanted to see for ourselves if vermicompost would indeed help boost our produce. In order to test this, we planted two sets of cauliflower, of the same seed and at the same time. In one part, we used the vermicompost whereas in the other, we resorted to using what we traditionally used. The results are all pointing in favour of vermicompost, and the cauliflowers that received vermicompost are growing more healthily and at a quicker pace as people are approaching the family to buy the compost.”
Managing waste at the household level
Like the Jaisi, Mr. Dhruba Subedi had also received the same training on vermicomposting. To him, the appeal of vermicomposting is that it is something that requires very low investment, faster than traditional process and can be replicated by many famers. The vermicompost is very good option for the farmers who always struggle to get chemical fertilizer on time and almost unable to get on time. Mr. Subedi says, “I will use the compost in my field; if I have more compost, I will sell it to potential customers. There is already interest in my community to buy this compost. I hope to teach them the methods of vermicomposting as well.” Another appeal to him is that vermicomposting allows him to better manage the waste from his home. “Although most of the biodegradable waste from my house is used to feed the cows, this vermicompost will give me the option of decomposing biodegradable waste at my house,” he says.
Managing waste at the municipal level
And indeed, up to 80–90% of the waste generated at the household level can be managed within the household level. If this were the case, then it would be much easier to manage the waste at the municipal level, wherein the landfill sites are fast filling up, and look as if that part of the earth has been swallowed whole by plastic.
“We receive all kinds of waste products at the municipality waste collection site — ranging from even dead animals to unmanaged hospital waste, which has the risk of infecting us waste managers,” says Ms. Kanti Tamang, 44, with a smile forming behind her mask, who works as a waste collector at the Tilomata Municipality waste processing centre. She is among 40 waste workers who was provided with a job at the waste processing centre, through UNDP. “If we received segregated waste, and received only the non-biodegradable waste, it would be so much more efficient to manage them,” says Chandra Bahadur Gurung, who is the supervisor at the waste processing centre. To him, the solution can be as simple as ensuring that different sorts of dustbins be used for different kinds of waste products.
The Mayor of Tilotama Municipality, Mr. Basudev Ghimire agrees. “Tilotama municipality is very conscious about becoming a green city. We want to promote initiatives to promote better waste management, as well as set up cycling lanes in the municipality to become cycle-friendly,” the Mayor explains.
However, the challenge of unmanaged waste is a huge one, and is plaguing the municipality. In order to complement Tilotama municipality’s endeavors to become a green city, UNDP’s Rapid Financing Facility supported Promoting Green Recovery Project (PGRP) is working with Tilotama municipality, to improve the household and municipal waste management system. Under this initiative, PGRP has partnered with Public Relation (WASH) Health Cooperative in the area to introduce farmers to vermicomposting as a means of waste management at the household level. The initiative provided earthworms, commonly called redworms, to over 260 households from marginalized communities in Tilotama. These worms are among the fastest nutrient-rich compost producers, and the quality of vermicompost is four to five times higher than other types of compost. It is through this initiative that the Niure family and Mr. Subedi have learned of the benefits of vermicompost. Furthermore, the initiative is also creating green jobs for the most vulnerable groups, and especially women in the municipal waste collection system and working to establish waste processing centres. Under this initiative, PGRP is working in five select municipalities across the country that will create 1,500 green jobs.
Story by Ayushma Basnyat, UNDP Nepal / PGRP
Photo credit: Ayushma Basnyat & Shrutina Dhanchha, UNDP Nepal / PGRP
