Composting 101

One of the most important rules in sustainable agriculture is:

When you take, you must replace!

Conventional agriculture has totally missed the mark in this regard.  When you pick a vegetable from the garden, it has many nutrients. 

Where do you think those nutrients came from?

Yes, the soil.  When you take something from the soil and fail to replace it, what do you think will happen?

Exactly!  The soil will contain fewer of those nutrients in the future, and consequently, the next crop will contain fewer nutrients.  Eventually,

the soil will become depleted of macronutrients AND of micronutrients!

Chemical fertilizers contain an abundant amount of just three nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium) that do nothing to improve the long-term vitality of the soil.  In addition, they over-stimulate the soil biota to the point that with continual exposure, the soil becomes fatigued, depleted and eroded. 

Chemical fertilizers actually cause soil to be consumed.

This is not a technique that will revitalize Africa’s soils!

Composting is one such technique that complements permaculture / forest garden systems.  Good compost contains all the nutrients that synthetic fertilizers contain, AND MORE.  It is far more complete and balanced with nutrients, and has an ability to support soil biota that chemical fertilizers can never do. 

Compost is organic material that has been reduced to its simplest form.  It is the foundation for building humus.  Humus adds vital nutrients to the soil, balances the soil with a wide range of nutrients plants need for growth, aids in the growth of microbes (soil biota) which give plants the nutrients they need when they need them, improves the water holding capacity of the soil, helps sandy soils retain water, and helps to loosen clay soils.  It is a natural and completely safe fertilizer that builds strength in the soil.  Strong soil helps plants grow fast and resist disease.  Unlike with chemical fertilizers, it is hard to add too much compost to the garden.

Most Africans are still ignorant of composting basics.   Because composting can be made with any organic material available in the area, there is not much incentive for private companies to promote its use. People are much more familiar with chemical fertilizers, as companies all over the world make a tidy profit on its sale.  Lacking the heavy promotion that has supported the adoption of chemical fertilizers, many Africans are still not aware of the more complete benefits of compost.

My goal is to help balance the scales and educate more people as to the benefits of compost and how easy to is to make. 

To make compost, you need just three things:

organic material

water

oxygen

 

That’s it!

It is simple and replicateable for every man, woman, and child who wishes to naturally enrich their garden soil.   Most importantly, its simplicity and price (free) make it a technology that is definitely applicable to the third world context. 

Because when you take care of the earth,

the earth will take care of you.

So on December 16^th, I had a meeting at my counterpart’s garden to teach basic composting techniques to ten lead farmers in the area.  (My counterpart and I also taught double digging bed preparation and its efficacy in permaculture.) 

Some participants in my compost making class.

 

For the uninitiated, how does one make really good compost in Africa?

1.    Add a variety of organic materials and wood ash.  Available components can include peanut shells, millet chaff, green tree leaves (especially those that fix nitrogen), dry leaf litter, rumen contents from a recently slaughtered cow, weeds, spent tea leaves, fruit peels, spoiled food, and manure from most farm animals.

2.    Avoid adding inorganic materials.  This includes glass, partially degraded plastic bags, broken sandals, worn out clothing with holes in the wrong places, and dead batteries.

3.    Add ingredients in layers.

4.    Use some termite soil.  Termite soil contains essential nutrients, beyond the reach of crop roots, that are brought to the surface by termites. 

5.    Avoid adding too much soil.  This will smother the compost pile and hinder oxygen from getting to the microbes.

6.    When you are making the compost pile, water every two layers.

7.    Keep the compost moist but not under water.

8.    Turn the compost at least every two weeks to give the microbes oxygen and expose the microbes to un-decomposed organic material.

9.    Really good compost is dark brown or black and has a sweet, earthy smell like the forest.

Additionally, compost piles made in the dry season in Africa are entirely or partially made in a hole to diminish evaporation of water from the pile.  Though it is not so hot in December, the temperatures will begin to climb in February.

Intentionally making compost does take two to three months.  Nature is in the process of making compost everyday.  With regular rains, organic material is continually being transformed into humus.  However, when the rainy season ends, this process stops.   Given water, this organic material will continue its progression into compost. 

There is one aspect of compost making I enjoy teaching: 

Where to find already made or partially made compost?

If you live near a river, you can often find piles of organic material that have been deposited by the water flow and have started to decompose.  This partial compost can definitely be added to a compost pile.  (Of course, any inorganic material should be removed first.) 

Another source of finished compost or nearly finished compost is from villagers who don’t understand the benefits of soil enrichment.  Instead of using animal manure from their livestock to improve the soil in their garden or field, they choose to pack it into a rice sack and throw it into the bush.

No, I am not kidding!

I, always the resourceful individual, stumbled upon these sacks thrown into the fields.  Often, the manure is nearly decomposed, having been left undisturbed during the rainy season. Occasionally, there is too much trash mixed in with the manure to make it useable.

Could that be a bag of manure... or something else?

And once in a while, I’ll find something inside the bag that I wasn’t expecting.

Like the time I spotted a bulging rice sack 100 or so yards from the road.

“Another sack of gold for the garden,” I thought to myself.

When I got close and took a peak inside…

Nope.

DEAD GOAT!

Oops.

Not something I want in my compost.

At least in my counterpart’s garden, there is no shortage of compost.   Come rainy season (a long 6 months away), we plan to have numerous compost piles already made with nearby weeds, manure, etc. to receive the bountiful rainfall that occurs between June and October.  The only work we will have to do is to turn the pile every two weeks.  And voila!  A bumper crop of compost!

This compost could even become an income generating activity!

So, who wants to make some compost?

Asalaa maalekum!

Installation - Senegal

I have arrived at my site in central Senegal and I am adjusting well to a country where snow never falls.  Although my work takes me to many surrounding villages in the African bush, I have the convenience of living in a moderately size town with electricity. Not that everyone has electricity, but it is available to those families that can afford it.  Since I do use the internet for part of my job (submitting required reports), it is recommended that I have regular access to the internet.  This explains my placement in a town versus in a bush village where electricity is almost non-existent.  Of course, there are times when the electricity, as well as the phone service, does not work, as I also experienced while living in Guinea.

My rather spacious BRICK house.

I have not yet decided what to do with this tractor bucket that lies in my front "yard."  Perhaps it might make a good bathtub when rainy season arrives. 

 

 

   

Living with a host family is not new as a Peace Corps volunteer.   Having someone prepare all of my meals is new.  It is actually more convenient to allow someone else to cook for me as wood is rather scarce here and buying charcoal just to cook for one person is not very efficient nor sustainable.  Like in Guinea, diversity in the diet is severely lacking, and most families subsist on a diet of rice or couscous plus some kind of sauce, with or without a few chunks of the locally available vegetables – potatoes, eggplant, okra, piment, onion, hibiscus, squash, or beans.  Meat that is not fish is rarely consumed, and when it is, each person is limited to a morsel or two. (Fish is consumed almost everyday by my host family.)

Usually, I eat from a rather large communal bowl with the family, with most using their right hand to serve themselves.  (I, and sometimes other family members, will use a spoon.  I have not yet mastered the “hand” technique of getting non-sticky rice or couscous from the bowl to my mouth without half of it falling all over the place… and my family laughing at me!)   Need I not mention that the left hand is reserved for bathroom duty.   

Should I contract some nondeadly illness, I have a well stocked medical kit issued by Peace Corps with both prescription and non prescription drugs.  The best I approach is just to surrender yourself to Africa and deal with any challenges as they arise.  Oh, and drink (mostly) filtered water!

Invitation!

  

Part of the integration process that Peace Corps is well known for is being given a local name.  My name while in Senegal is Ousmane Ndao.  Of the few Ousmane’s I have known in my life, all have been extremely well behaved and dependable, so this should be a good omen.   Whenever possible, I encourage Senegalese youngsters to greet me with my adopted name Ousmane, and not with the more pervasive and demeaning “Toubab.”

(“Toubab” in Senegal is a generic term for “white person.”)

Another important aspect of integrating into my community is learning the local language.   On this particular adventure, I am beginning to learn Wolof, the primary African language in Senegal.   My counterpart, I shall call him Boubacar, lives in a Madinke village.  Amazingly, he shares the same last name as my counterpart in Guinea, who hails from a different ethnic group, the Bassari.  Boubacar speaks French, Wolof, Madinke, and some English.  I have already drawn the line.  Except for a few salutations in Madinke, I am focusing on learning Wolof.  One new language at a time is enough!

Return to West Africa

I am back (again) in West Africa.  And how good it feels to be back.  I was especially thrilled with the welcoming party that was waiting for me at the airport. Along with fellow Guinean RPCV Jensen Daniel, and current Senegal PCV Ian Yau (whom I worked with while WWOOFING in Ségou, Senegal earlier this year), I was greeted by Yama, my angel from Guinea, who is the Safety and Security officer in Peace Corps Guinea.   I say angel because she was instrumental in helping me when I suffered a superficial head wound my first night in my village (Guinea, January 2014).  For the uninitiated, head wounds bleed… A LOT.  She is currently in Senegal covering for the Senegalese Safety and Security officer who is on vacation.

Though I am not in Guinea (yet), I will start the application process later this month to re-enter the country as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Ebola has lingered way longer than anyone could have imagined, and it is nearly (finally) extinguished.  Peace Corps Guinea has begun the long, tedious process of re-starting a program that has much work to be done.  Word is that Peace Corps Response positions in Health, Education, and Agroforestry will arrive in July 2016.  The regular cycle of volunteers will (unofficially) begin after that (Agroforestry PCV’s arriving near the end of the year, as is custom.)

So for the next year, I will be in Senegal as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (PCRV), working with the non profit Trees for the Future.  I will be aiding in the monitoring and evaluation of their projects in Senegal and teaching permaculture techniques.  My orientation and training is short (1 week) and as I am the sole volunteer on this project, I have no classmates to share this experience with.  Unlike pre-service training with the 2 year Peace Corps program, where each volunteer was placed with a host family, I am staying at a rather nice “African” hotel, with air conditioning, running hot water, electricity, and the internet.  I will try not to get used to it, as once I get to my village, life will be much different. 

Goats in Dakar, Senegal

A Little Bit About Senegal

Senegal is much like Guinea, but it is further along in its development.  Streets are relatively clean, the commercial real estate looks modern and there are even snazzy multimillion dollar office buildings that would not look out of place in large American cities like Chicago.  However, this is still a third world country, and you quickly get in the habit of being firm with overly aggressive salespeople.  Despite spending time researching, designing, and contemplating effective aid strategies, it is a bit overwhelming and frustrating at times.  Each region in Africa, even within Senegal, is diverse and has its unique set of problems.  I am not sure if I want to scream or to cry.  The reasons people do or do not do is sometimes unfathomable.  In many cases, I wonder if anything can be done.  Apparently, starving animals are a bigger problem here in Senegal than in Guinea, especially closer to the Sahara… I've heard stories where cows (generically speaking) become so weak that they can no longer walk and they eventually die.  It makes me wonder why people would insist on living in areas that struggle to support life.  Again, can anything really be done for someone who refuses to change. 

When you're hungry, you're willing to try anything at least once.

Trees for the Future

Welcome

This blog is a continuation of my previous blog, dankrullinguinea.blogspot.com.  I feel a minor change in the address is appropriate due to my recent and expected travels to countries other than Guinea.

As always, I welcome comments and emails to dankrullinguinea@gmail.com