Interview with Bhavani Prakash

We interviewed Bhavani Prakash for the tip on Start Food Composting, here’s the full interview:

Why did you start composting your food waste? Who taught you?

We do a lot of cooking at home, and we go through a lot of veggies and fruits in a day. I didn’t want all the veggie and fruit peel waste to go down the chute in a plastic bag and get to the incinerator. I had seen organic farmers compost their biomass waste in farms, but really wanted to find a way to do it in an apartment using a closed container.

I stumbled upon an article in a magazine called Lapis Lazuli, where a permaculture friend of mine, Melissa Ong had translated an article in Mandarin on home composting. I followed the concept, researched it a bit more, and made adjustments through trial and error and have been successfully composting since then.

What kind of food waste did you use from your home? Describe how you do composting at home.

All veggie and fruit peel waste, coffee grinds, tea leaves, paper with not too much print on it, dried leaves, yard waste, cardboard boxes, tissue rolls (the brown cylinder inside). I’ve added what to include and what to avoid here.

Is it difficult to maintain the compost bin? What do you use the compost for?

Not at all. A compost bin is very forgiving, even if you make mistakes, because you can always adjust it. If there’s too much moisture, add some browns (paper, cardboard, dried leaves) to soak up the extra moisture. If it starts smelling, which it shouldn’t, then it means it’s not getting enough air, so just give it a good stir. If it’s too dry, then sprinkle some water regularly. Once you start and taste success, it’s really easy to keep doing it.

I use the compost for my rooftop garden where I grow veggies and fruit like sugarcane, banana, sweet potato, beans and gourd, and a variety of herbs and greens organically.

Bhavani Prakash is a green activist and the founder of the Eco Walk the Talk blog.

Interview and Images credit: Bhavani Prakash