Kathy Cadden and the Compost

At first the children were confused why the crazy “blan” wanted sacks of donkey poop but soon caught on that this was a job they could help with and get to spend some time at Lifeline and maybe get a pair of shoes and/or a hot meal.  Kathy worked with many of the kids until she found a group of dependable workers (about six young teenagers) and she taught them about composting and gardening. 

The groundskeepers at Lifeline became the overseers of the project and they learned alongside the kids what goes in a compost heap and how to turn it, etc.  They dug holes and made a three section cement bin for the donkey poop, leaves, and organic food waste to compost.  The soil here at Lifeline is not the best and our little seedlings seem to be growing at half speed.  Once we begin to produce our own fertilizer we can improve the quality of our soil, grow more, produce good vegetables in our garden and possibly begin to sell or donate bucket gardens with good soil to villagers. 

The process: we collect organic food waste in buckets from the kitchen at Lifeline, sacks of donkey poop from the village and dead leaves and plantain stalks from the fields and compost it in the bins (for later use as fertilize all over Lifeline) and in the garden trenches.  We’re excited to see if this catches on and waste no longer becomes wasteful!