Garbage to Gardens Scholarships Initiative

 

A special 87th birthday with a mission to accomplish !

Today is a special day in my life. I have completed more than eight and a half decades of this long journey of life. It has been a happy, healthy, and blissful contended phase throughout. My happy family, my near and dear ones, also my dearest friends who have always shown me their love and respect. I am extremely grateful  to all of them.

At the same time, when I look around, I see the other side:  poverty, inequality illiteracy etc. We cannot remain insensitive to all these issues happening in our society

I am not a rich or wealthy individual, but with my limited resources I have decided to sponsor a girl student coming from a tribal community to complete a 2 year diploma course in Agriculture at the Jnana Prabodhini Krushi Tantra Vidyalaya, Harali in Solapur district.

To make this a sustainable cause and help more needy students in the future, I have decided to launch a Garbage to Gardens Scholarship Initiative (www.socialseva.org/ggsi).

Let us all be together to support this genuine cause and give our blessings and best wishes to uplift the needy and deserving students in our society in the field of science and other areas of education. 

                Sudha Pai

Usage of Bio-waste incinerator at society level

I am happy to inform my friends that Magarpatta City has installed a Bio-waste incinerator to treat the bio-waste created in the society like sanitary pads, diapers used by sick patients, diapers used for babies and also masks used during the pandemic etc. Magarpatta City management has taken the lead and initiative to start this at the society level as it is an important issue through which infections can be spread. I hope and wish that other societies also follow this soon. Magarpatta City has an excellent Waste to Energy system which is worth following as a role model and I am proud to be a resident of Magarpatta city, which is known as The Pride of Pune.  

                                                                                                                                            By Sudha Pai

 

National Education Policy 2020

The 5+3+3+4 stages starts from age 3yrs in Aganvadi (Play school), next Primary, Preparatory , Middle stage and Secondary, THIS secondary stage is in two parts 9-10 and 11-12.

      Secondary stage, 9-10 and 11-12, here the student get a chance to choose a subject of his or her liking and plan for a profession in later years. At this stage, I would like to mention that priority should be given to science subjects like Botany, Zoology, Horticulture,( vermiculture, bio –culture) which are used for composting and are directly connected with the conservation of  NATURE Students who are selecting these subjects should be encouraged and felicitated

       After passing 9-10, they are getting a Certificates eligible for employment at that level. If the Gov gives them employment it will be good boost for them to go for next higher study Diploma and once they reach the graduation level they will be able to use new innovative technology.  Soon we will have nature- loving professionals and scientists amongst us

       In the present scenario where nature has been destroyed beyond repair, we have to take these steps and start implementing them without much delay so that we may not have to face another worst pandemic. Please give a serious thought to it and it will be a noble act on the part of the Gov.

        Last but not the least, it should be a great concern to all of us that our farmers’  next generation are getting influenced by the glamour and luxury of city life and are ready to give away their land for this type of life. They should be truly convinced that they are the richest luxury for the nation that is food for survival. Similarly students from poor family back ground with no educated parents at home can be encouraged to opt for this course where they can create beautiful landscaping and gardens and also create self-employment thereby make a big contribution towards our Nation

By sudha pai

Nature vs Corona-virus

Sudha  Pai
18th April 2020

Mother Nature has an active role in maintaining the life and growth of all the species on this planet earth including the human species which is provided with a special part in their brains called intellect to be used discretely. As a loving mother takes good care of her children, nature has provided  human beings everything that is necessary for living a good life, like pure air to breath, clean water to drink, good food like fruits, vegetables, grains etc. to eat and last but not the least beautiful surroundings to live a healthy life.
       
The man with his super intellect and arrogance has intruded in a perfectly managed system called Nature in the name of progress and development, so much that  today we don't have pure air to breathe, no clean water to drink and no hygienic places to live in.  All these things combined  can’t give immunity to our physical body. We have so many  vehicles running on petrol and diesel creating pollution in the air. Industrialists dump their waste into  rivers unaware  that water seeps underground and enters  other water  bodies in the nearby area,  polluting the water. To top it all off, our so called educated people with their  moral and civic standard have created such messy and largely littered surroundings. Our civic administration is not addressing this issue. This is a matter of grave concern to our societies.
       
It is now time to get the  message:  we have to get back the love of our Mother Nature who  we have so callously wrecked beyond repair.

If all of us can come together as one during this Corona crisis, we can also be together to get back our lost paradise by promoting  planting trees, flowers fruits etc. in our surroundings. Surely it will be a beautiful world with bees and butterflies communicating their gratitude towards you, also  changing our attitude and style of living. It will be great if our Govt also take interest in promoting nature in every infrastructure and development planning.
       
So many new diseases are cropping up, the latest being COVID19, the Corona virus. A couple of years ago there were many more like Dengue, Malaria, Swine flu, Chikungunya etc. Those who had lived in India in the 1940s and 50s even had to face the deadly Plague, Cholera, Typhoid, Smallpox … the list is quite big.  Our scientists  have found vaccines for all these deadly diseases  and got them eradicated. Corona has spread all over the world and we are  yet to find a vaccine for it. We wait for such situations, we wait for these deaths to happen and then we wait yet again, just to find a solution for a problem that could have easily been  prevented just by keeping a balance between progress and development.

Celebration of Word Environment Day, June 5, 2020.                       By Sudha Pai

All of us now have to pass through a very depressing and difficult times all over the world with Covid19 followed by lock down, stay at home, social distancing etc. We have to give a deep thought as to how far we are partly responsible for this kind of situation. Please read my earlier post ‘Nature VS Corona Virus’.

Today, I appeal well in advance to all my friends that we have to make all efforts to get back our lost paradise and the love of our supreme Mother Nature. I am humbled to see so many likes and equal number of appreciative comments from you on my work and articles posted on face book especially my blog  www.garbagetogardens.blogspot.in  and similar page on face book , Thank you all from my heart.

I am planning to start a Green Movement on the auspicious day of the World Environment Day on the 5^th of June 2020. Let us all be together friends in this movement and make it a great success. I appeal and request you all to plant minimum one sapling of a tree of your choice in your surroundings. depending on the availability of space you may  plant even more .

What prompted me to start this movement was axing down of 2000 trees, in other words lives in Arae colony in the suburbs of Mumbai to put a railway shed for the Bullet train project. If it was a human massacre it would have been called genocide and we would have fought a war over it and legal actions must have been executed.  We humans do not realize that these trees are helping us to breathe oxygen the core essence of our life. We have been all through insensitive to such happening. Now a time has come to prevent such crimes

I am there with you all in this mission with my limited capacity as I am a senior citizen of 85yrs. Please do not worry about my age as you young people are there with me I never feel my age. So, let us go ahead and complete our mission as this is the need of the hour even though late, ‘Better to be late than never’’ Thank you all once again, when you are done please let me know in your comments just one word done, with love and blessings , GOD BLESS

My e mail id:  sudhaspai@hotmail.com

This 81-Year-Old Swachh Crusader Has Been Encouraging Composting In Pune For Nearly 40 Years

Through talks, demonstrations and even over teas at her home, Sudha Pai has been working tirelessly to influence people around her to compost their waste

Read more

^{Positive influence of Nature on Human mind and body                                                
  By Sudha Pai}

     ^{Nature in its complete form constitute air, water, light, space and land along with its beautiful green landscape. These five elements are essential for the creation, protection and continuation of all species of life on this planet including human beings. The whole system is so perfectly designed to provide and fulfil the needs of all the living species, most important being food for survival like fruits, vegetables, grains etc. .All the living beings are interdependent and co-exist with peace and harmony. We are just caretakers here on this planet to live and enjoy our lives by following and respecting the laws of Nature. The magnitude of this system is beyond our comprehension as we are only a part of it}

       ^{Working with Nature is a most beautiful and satisfying experience. We can achieve this by creating a small patch of greenery in the surroundings of our homes depending on whatever space you can manage. If we nurture these thoughts, it may change the attitude of our way of life and our style of living. Nature has inspired poets, writers, artists, lyricist etc. It is a perfect picture of beauty, serenity and divinity. In the name of progress and development, the man with his super intellect and arrogance has intruded into this perfect system and the disastrous consequences are seen in the form of landslides, floods and climate change etc}

    

   ^{Lastly, on a spiritual note, I believe that Nature is God almighty, visible and omnipotent. Nature is true religion self-explaining without any holy books, scriptures, dictates and dogmas and showing us the right path to health,happiness, peace and prosperity. If we worship nature, there will be no negativity in our minds. You will have only love, respect and compassion for others. We should not forget with our limited wisdom that we all come from Nature and go back there by following the laws of Nature. So please see that we do not destroy Nature by which we will be destroying ourselves.}                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                              ^,                                                                                     

The Green Crusader

An article by Rituja Ravikiran Rao from The Golden Sparrow

Trash Talk

An article by Mita Banerjee from Harmonyindia.org

Garbage and Solutions

 I am overwhelmed and really touched by the response of my fb friends for reading and appreciating my page Garbage to Gardens. I thank you all for sending me your likes.
Since you have liked what I have written, my humble appeal and request to you all is that let us all be together in this mission of solving this glaring issue of garbage which is creating so much littering on the streets added with stink and filth. This is  attracting flies, mosquitoes, dogs, cats, birds etc to spread diseases like dengue, malaria, swine flue etc, the list is only increasing day by day. the rag pickers who are handling this waste are also exposed to all kinds of infections. How long can we remain silent spectators to this miserable situation. Apathy on the  part of the corporation is also responsible for this big mess that we are in today. No point in indulging in blame game. Since we are responsible for creating this, we have to take the responsibility for this
       It is high time that we all resolve this issue by taking a firm stand not to throw our kitchen and garden waste outside our homes and handle it with different simple processes which I have already mentioned in my posts on fb.  page. this will give you valuable returns in the form of healthy organic fertilizer for your plants.
      After you succeed, please share this experience with just five families in your neighbourhood and request them t follow the same as it is for a genuine social cause. This simple action from all of us , we will be helping our great nation which all of us wish to see a clean and healthy place to live, So, let us not waste any more time friends .looking forward to hearing from you soon.
  Wish you all the best 
               Sudha pai  

Segregation of Bio-waste

After introducing our Prime Minister’s Policy of Swach Bharat, people in many places have started implementing many projects like segregation, disposal of waste etc. a bit seriously, but not enough to get good results. Please read below a few suggestions.

Since the garbage accumulated every day is of different types, such as wet garbage, plastics, glass, electronic waste, and lastly bio-waste like sanitary pads, diapers, syringes etc., we need minimum 4 different containers for these.

1)      One for wet waste  which can go for composting

2)      One for plastic which can go for recycling

3)      One for electronic waste  which can also be re-used

4)      One for bio-waste this should be separately segregated without mixing with any other waste as this might contain infections and other communicable diseases etc.

In my earlier posts, I have mentioned different processes for composting. Hence, now I am giving importance to this bio-waste, segregation of which has not been happening all these years and as such, it is very necessary to introduce now and see that this waste is incinerated along with hospital waste if possible or get separate incinerators for this. I appeal to our corporation to give priority to this and start implementing this soon. I appeal to all my friends too to think about seriously to take active interest and get it done as it is affecting our health.

To make the disposal easy, waste pickers may collect the wet waste and bio-waste every day and other wastes on different days of the week. They may instruct the residents about this plan.

---

My Garbage is my Responsibility part 2

The saga of events that has taken place recently, the nationwide agitation all over the country for our civic rights has somewhat helped us to think about the next step. Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand and should be given equal importance to both.

This is regarding the menace created by plastic products that are used by general public because they are easily available, cheap and seemingly very convenient for use. The negative side of this usage of plastic has been totally ignored till it reached a point of no return. Firstly, the used plastic has to find a proper place for disposal. Even though, the strict segregation laws are there, many do not follow these laws and very indiscreetly throw their waste mixed with wet waste, plastic products like carry bags, even hazardous and harmful materials like battery cells, broken glasses, used tube lights, used huggies, sanitary pads etc., the list is endless. Added to this, the eating houses all over the city also throw their waste such as thermocol packages, disposable kitchenware and what not. All these things find their way to the huge garbage bins kept on the roads unattended and overflowing all the time. Disposable waste from the eating houses also is very callously pushed into the drain chambers in a most irresponsible manner. These choked chambers create havoc during the rainy season by flooding the roads, even causing major floods as it happened in Mumbai a few years back.

In order to find a tangible solution to this existing reality, NGOs have appointed rag pickers to sort out this mess littered on the streets. Here again we find young children, many of them minors working with bare hands, there by getting exposed to all kinds of infections. Many of us, educated and civilized citizens proudly show off our knowledge of human rights, child labour etc sitting in the drawing rooms of our comfortable homes. It is a mockery of our education. If at all we have any conscience left within us, we cannot shut our minds to this miserable and pitiable situation.As responsible citizens it is not enough to find fault with the whole system and do nothing about it. Civic bodies are also currently showing some interest in this matter. A clipping from The Times Of India is given as an attachment below to read. This is a very encouraging step. The Corporation may please take some course of action to find support and help from the citizens and solve this problem within the earliest possible time frame.

The following suggestions may also be given a thought and if possible may be implemented. Our scientists are also taking keen interest in this and they may also be consulted. One name which appeared in the website recently is Dr Alka Zadgaunkar from Nagpur who has succeeded by some process to get petroleum from plastic. Secondly, a few recycling centers may be introduced in the cities and organize collection from different localities. The companies which supply these products like huggies, sanitary pads etc may please replace plastic with the bio-degradable material and this may be separately segregated. If all of us share these responsibilities, we can have an excellent system in place of which we will all be proud of.

Our intelligent younger generation may please try to keep pace with our progress of science and technology by also becoming aware of their civil, moral and social responsibilities. We have succeeded with our technology to reach the Moon. At the same time, ironically some of our unfortunate fellow beings are made to dive into dirty and choked manholes bare-bodied with no protective clothing and take out stinking dead rats, cats and such other stuffs. These people with their families live in very miserable and unhygienic conditions. Their children are not getting proper education and many of them often suffering from ailments caused by very unhygienic surroundings. We as responsible citizens cannot remain insensitive spectators to all such things happening around us. The only way we can help them is to be always aware our civic responsibilities like segregation of waste, say no to plastic, see that drain chambers are not used as garbage bins and last but not the least, if we come across any garbage littered on the streets draw immediate attention of our elected civic authorities to promptly address the issue.

I quote “Remember, the universe is the echo of our actions and thoughts". - Dalai Lama

Indian Express article

My Garbage is my Responsibility By sudha pai
Overflowing garbage bins unattended is a constant eyesore on the streets in all cities.
We read in the newspapers only unfulfilled promises from the civic authorities such as so
many crores have been sanctioned and so much of land has been allotted etc.Strict laws
are passed for segregation of wet and dry stuff. But what we see littered on the street is
something entirely contrary to this rule. Plastic bags, broken glass bulbs , batteries etc
along with wet waste like cooked leftovers rotten vegetables and fruits. The list is
endless. More over, littered food-waste provides a perfect environment for stray
dogs, cats and pests such as rats to increase in numbers, thus feeding a larger
problem. Ultimately the common man is left with no choice but to live with an
increased exposure to diseases in these unhygienic and dirty conditions. It has been a
long wait without seeing any positive results.
This slogan “My garbage is my responsibility” is written after evaluating the
existing reality. If we want to live in clean surroundings all of us have to make an effort
to achieve this. All of us as educated, civilized and responsible citizens,seriously follow
this slogan , we will be creating a clean and peaceful breakthrough in our garbage
situation.
Wet waste created in an average household after segregating the dry waste, is
hardly few grams may be even less than one kg per day. If we can handle this
individually without throwing it out into the common garbage bins, the problem will be
reduced to a large extend. Our future generation will be able to learn and adapt to this
culture and benefit from it.We will be teaching our children the awareness of our moral,
civic and social responsibilities at home. But how do we do all this?
Many youngsters have taken up this challenging job by designing various types of
products that can take care of our wet waste very effectively in our homes especially in
flats where it is needed most.One such product, Daily Dumps(brand name) commonly
known as Khamba has been tested and proved effective. This product has been designed
by a young entrepreneur, Poonam Kasturi from Bangalore. It is a modular three tier
terracotta composter. It is quite an attractive piece which can be kept in a corner of a
balcony in a flat along with the other flowering pots.The compost prepared in this would
be ready in about three month’s time. It is also environment friendly as it is made of clay.
Details about usage and maintenance etc are given separately along with the product.You
may please visit www.dailydump.org for more details. Many more competitive products
are also available in the market where you may have an option to choose one suitable for
your needs. Some such products have also been discussed by my friend on her blog:
www.greenokplease.org
Lastly, it is my sincere appeal to all our respected builders to provide one product of
this kind and make it mandatory to use it before issuing the no objection certificate.
Already there is a supreme court order that every society has to be provided with
composting pits. This is only a practical variation as the composting is done in an
individual capacity. In many societies the pits are left unused attracting reptiles, field rats
and other pests. In some societies no pits are provided. However many societies find it
impractical for want of co-operation from the members.So if we practice the above
mentioned system the load on the civic bodies like corporation etc will be reduced to a
large extend.From a humanitarian angle,we may be able to reduce the work load of those
unfortunate ones who are doing this filthy jobs with bare hands and exposing themselves
to various infections. It is surely not a pleasant sight happening around you.
Next step may be to take care of the dry waste.This requires more organized approach
of segregation as there are very many harmful and hazardous materials thrown out
indiscreetly.We may have do this more systematically. Today it may look and sound as an
impossible job. But if we share these important responsibilities, we can have a very
useful and fantastic system in place of which we will all be proud of. I quote
“You could be the change that you like to see in the world”
Mahatma Gandhi

Times of India Article

Garbage to Gardens Part II

Garbage to Gardens - Part 2
A creative approach to recycling

Wet garbage or what is commonly known, as kitchen waste is a very valuable yet often underused resource. With the growth of a nuclear family and apartment culture in today’s urban society, proper garbage disposal is proving to be a growing problem. This growing filth is causing allied health problems in cities. Scientists have been working in order to develop various methods and corresponding products to come up with efficient ways of garbage disposal.

In this article I would like to share with you 3 methods I have successfully been using to dispose and convert wet garbage to manure in my garden, namely – Vermiculture, Bio – culture and EM process (a Japanese technology). Vermiculture can be used for all ground plants and does not need much watering as it holds the moistures in the soil. Bio-culture and the EM process are excellent for flat owners as they use up all the kitchen waste with less soil. By using these methods every one of us will be able to make good use of our wet household garbage and can contribute to keep our surroundings clean and ultimately save the environment.

I will briefly explain these methods and also the products available in the market required for these processes.

1.Vermiculture composting process
Items required (available in the market)
Vermiculture, Cow dung, heavy bricks, wet garbage (kitchen waste, cooked waste and garden waste), a small covered area.

Method
This method is the easiest and simplest to follow and gives excellent nitrogen rich manure. It is a zero pollution and environment friendly process with minimum cost.

Find a small covered area in your garden. By using bricks make a raised enclosure on the ground of the size 4ft by 2ft by 1ft (ht). This should be enough for a small family of four members or it may vary on the quantity of garbage generated. Spread a thin layer of cow dung about 2 inches at the bottom. Over this layer spread some coconut fibre or dry leaves along with Vermiculture (about 250 grams). It is now ready for use. Start throwing the wet garbage loosely except cooked waste, which can by thrown after 15 days. When the enclosure is half full spread another thin layer of cow dung and when is becomes full add a last layer of cow dung and leave it for 2 months .You may cover this enclosure with a net to protect it from cats, dogs, flies etc.

Repeat this process in a similar enclosure. The compost in the first enclosure will be ready in a couple of months. It can be used for all plants like fruit trees etc very effectively. This is very rich manure with all the necessary nutrients required for the growth of plants.

When the compost is ready, take it out from the enclosure leaving about four (4) inches level of contents at the bottom. The earthworms produced from the culture will remain sheltered at the bottom. These worms thrive on the garbage and convert it into compost. You can continue reusing the area without adding any fresh Vermiculture.

2. Bioculture Method

Items required
Bio-culture (available in the market), enough wet garbage, thick plastic sheet, and thick heavy bricks.

This again is pollution free and environment friendly and we can all be friends of nature and can make good use of the garbage which otherwise would have created filth and stink.

Method for terrace garden

This can be very effectively used on the terrace as this method uses more garbage and minimum soil. The important thing to remember is that there should be proper sloping, drainage along with waterproofing done on the terrace.

Spread a thick plastic sheet (3ft by 3ft) and place two layers of bricks on all 4 sides and make a bed. Spread at the bottom a two-inch layer of coconut fibre dry grass or sugarcane waste. Now spread half kg of bio-culture and cover it with a four-inch layer of garbage. Repeat till the bed is full. Make a well in the centre and put a little soil to hold the plant and now it is ready for planting. Cooked waste can be added only after15 days of planting the sapling. Even fruit trees like guava, orange etc can be planted on the terrace like this.
For 9 sq feet area you will require 5 kg of bio-culture and this is a one-time investment. As the garbage goes down you can keep on adding more and more garbage. You may treat this bed with cow dung once in 2 months. If you find any small insects or ants just sprinkle water boiled with neem leaves on the bed.


3. EM Process
This is one of the products, which I have been using very effectively.
EM (Effective micro organisms) is an extremely beneficial, Eco-friendly and totally harmless product. EM – solution is also a very economical and easy to use product.
EM solution can be classified into 3 categories.
1. Original EM (EM-1), 2. Extended EM (EM-2), 3 Rice Wash EM (EM-3)
1 Original EM (EM-1)
EM-1 is made in the factory. It has dormant microorganisms and is used to make extended EM and Rice wash EM solutions. Instruction booklets are also available along with this.
2 Extended EM (EM-2)
Fill one liter-size plastic bottle with plain water leaving about 2'' on top. Leave it open overnight before use, as corporation water contains chlorine. Add 10ml original EM solution and 2 tbsp of sugar (15gms) to this water. Mix well and keep it airtight away from sunlight in a cool dark place for seven days. Once in two or three days open the lid to let out some gas. This will be ready for use on the 8th day. In cold weather it may take a little longer (about 10 days or more). Shelf life is one month after it is ready.

3Rice Wash EM (EM-3)
This EM further enhances properties of EM-2 and makes its use even cheaper. Take 1ltr size plastic bottles number them 1 to 7.When you wash rice for cooking collect first two washes (approximately 1ltr from 250gms of rice). Fill one bottle with this water leaving little space on top (about 2''). This rice water should be used within 4hrs. Add 20ml of EM-2 (Extended EM) and 2tbsps of sugar. Close cap tightly and keep aside for 7 days in a cool place away from sunlight. Repeat the process every day till all the 7 bottles are ready. On the 8th day bottle no1 is ready for use on your kitchen waste. The shelf life of the EM enhanced rice water is one week.
Take 2 or 3 plastic buckets and number them 1 to 3. Empty your kitchen waste (egg shells, bones, stale food, vegetable waste etc) in the first bucket. Pour EM-3 over it till the whole waste is immersed in this solution. Repeat this process every day until the bucket is full, leaving a little space on top to let out the gas. Keep covered for ten days. Repeat the process with the other buckets. After ten days take out the first bucket, sieve the liquid into another empty container. This liquid diluted 300 times with water is excellent liquid manure. Water your pots and plants with this water once in a week or once in ten days. Shelf life of this liquid is about 10 to 15 days. The leftover garbage contents is mixed with 3 times the quantity of soil and stored in gunny bags or empty cement bags for 10 to 15 days after which the fertile soil is ready for use. Use this soil directly in pots or on the ground. This process is very good for flat owners as they can conduct the whole process inside their flat. Extra fertile soil can be used in the society premises. The results are excellent.

Please make use of any one or all three processes in your garden to help promote a social cause.

Sudha Pai

An article on Magarpatta City

Magarpatta City, situated in Hadapsar, on the east side of Pune in Maharashtra, is a manmade paradise on earth, which is unique in all respects. It is a beautifully planned city with all the basic amenities required for the residents to live a happy, healthy and comfortable lifestyle. Balancing the role of nature in our day-to-day lives, is also given equal importance. This inspires the modern youth to understand, appreciate, and enjoy the beauty of nature in the midst of IT towers, residential buildings, club houses, schools, gymnasiums, shopping centres etc which are also part of this paradise. Beautiful flowering trees are planted on both sides of the wide roads which are vibrant with their colorful blooms in different seasons. Many species of birds announce their existence by loudly chattering and chirping various notes creating a beautiful and friendly bond between nature and mankind.
The city bears testimony to the positive vision and foresight of the management team at Magarpatta Township Development And Construction Company Co.Ltd., and the selfless untiring efforts of its Managing Director Mr Satish Magar and equally efficient and charming wife, Mrs Rekha Magar. Along with the strong and constructive support of his younger brother, Mr Umesh Magar, the Technical Director, they take an active interest in the day to day maintenance of this city. Satish is a man of few words. His actions speak louder than words. His priority has been for addressing basic human needs coupled with tapping the natural resources to make life comfortable for the residents while also addressing the issues related to the environment, which is the need of the hour.
Solar water heating systems are provided to every family to cater to the daily hot water needs of family members. This is a great luxury that everybody enjoys here.
Also, there exists a fully operational solid waste management project within the city including garbage segregation initiatives, a bio-gas plant, vermicomposting pits, rainwater harvesting etc. This has given a clean look and ambience to the city. This is one of the most progressive achievements for the management as it involves the co-operation from the residents and shop keepers alike.
Eco-friendly fly-ash bricks and concrete are used in construction which has advantages over using clay bricks in terms of cost, weight and strength.
Magarpatta Township Development and Construction Company has brought about a new eco-friendly awareness in society and has set a role model for others to follow. With all these facilities, anybody should be happy and proud to live in a place like this. We wish for more such heavenly abodes on earth.

Some thoughts on Women’s Day

8th of March is accepted as women’s day all over the world. This day may be
interpreted by every woman as a time to take stock of her achievements of the past
and her resolutions for the future.
As a senior citizen with all the experience of the past, I would like to mention
here a few points. First of all , I feel that we should not lose our identity as women in our society. Writers and poets have described a woman as a picture of grace, beauty , compassion, modesty and lastly as a symbol of strength and endurance.
There is no need for women to compete with men. We are biologically made different and have certain responsibilities endowed upon us by nature. We need to respect our opposite sex, men as companions in order to raise happy families thereby creating a happier and healthier society. This seems to be the need of the hour. If we try to go against nature the consequences are likely to be disastrous. Feminists and other modern activists may not agree with this thought today. The realization is bound to come later on in life. Life cannot be played back like a CD backward and forward.After completing these responsibilities they can always take up the other challenges. It has been proved beyond doubt that women can reach any heights they wish to.
Motherhood, is a most beautiful experience for all women. Once, when I visited a maternity home I saw a poster on the wall with a picture of a mother and a baby below which was inscribed these following lines, “Mother at whose breasts humanity is nourished and in whose lap civilizations are cradled “ What a great and noble job! Society and the whole of humanity are looking up and looking forward to you for this great job. Educated housewives need not feel guilty or not useful, as they are the ones contributing the maximum by making use of their education in the right way. Enjoy your family, your children, their little pranks and innocence. Do not miss the first eye to eye contact with your baby’s first smile, followed by all the milestones like the first step taken, first word spoken etc.. These precious and happy moments once gone will never come back to you.
Lastly, I feel that all our relationships should be based on sincerity and honesty, as it is a very simple formula to follow whether it it is friendship, marriage or career. A girl child grows up to be an educated member of the family, later on becomes a wife, mother, and grand mother and it continues. Finally she too becomes a senior citizen like us. A family without a woman is incomplete and a society without women does not exist

EM - Technique to covert kitchen waste into manure

Here is one of the products which can be used very effectively to convert garbage into very good quality manure.
EM - Effective micro-organisms are extremely beneficial, Eco-friendly and totally harmless. EM-solution is very economical and easy to use.

EM solution can be classified into 3 categories.

1. Original EM (EM-1)
2. Extended EM (EM-2)
3. Rice Wash EM (EM-3)

EM-1
Made only at the factory. It has dormant micro-organisms and is used to make extended EM solutions. Instruction booklets are also available along with this.

Extended EM solution (EM-2)
Fill one liter-size plastic bottle with plain water leaving about 2'' on top. Corporation water contains Chlorine so please leave it open overnight before use. Add 10ml original EM solution and 2 tbsp of sugar (15gms) to this water. Mix well and keep it airtight away from sunlight in a cool dark place for seven days. Once in two or three days open the lid to let out some gas. This will be ready for use on the 8th day. In cold weather it may take a little longer (about 10 days or more). Shelf life is one month after it is ready.

Rice Wash EM (EM-3) Solution
This EM further enhances properties of EM and makes its use even cheaper. Take 1ltr size plastic bottles number them 1 to 7. When you wash rice for cooking collect first two washes (approximately 1ltr from 250gms of rice). Fill one bottle with this water leaving little space on top (about 2''). This rice water should be used within 4hrs. Add 20ml of EM-2 (Extended EM) and 2tbsps of sugar. Close cap tightly and keep aside for 7 days in a cool place away from sunlight. Repeat the process every day till all the 7 bottles are ready. On the 8th day bottle no1 is ready for use on your kitchen waste. The shelf life of the EM enhanced rice water is one week.
Take 2 or 3 plastic buckets and number them 1 to 3. Empty your kitchen waste (egg shells, bones, stale food, vegetable waste etc) in the first bucket. Pour EM-3 over it till the whole waste is immersed in this solution. Repeat this process every day until the bucket is full, leaving a little space on top to let out the gas. Keep covered for ten days. Repeat the process with the other buckets. After ten days take out the first bucket, sieve the liquid into another empty container. This liquid diluted 300 times with water is excellent liquid manure. Water your pots and plants with this water once in a week or once in ten days. Shelf life of this liquid is about 10 to 15 days. The leftover garbage contents is mixed with 3 times the quantity of soil and stored in gunny bags or empty cement bags for 10 to 15 days after which the fertile soil is ready for use. Use this soil directly in pots or on the ground. This process is very good for flat owners as they can conduct the whole process inside their flat. Extra fertile soil can be used in the society premises. The results are excellent.

Help spread the awareness and use of EM as a social cause. For further clarifications please mail me at sudhaspai@hotmail.com

GARBAGE To GARDENS - A creative approach to recycling By Sudha Pai

What prompted me most to write this article is an advertisement which comes on almost all the T.V. channels ;It shows a filthy pile of garbage and a couple of children and a stray dog walking by the side of this pile, covering their noses and mouths saying ‘CHEE’. One is then seen asking the other whether he had had a bath with Lifebuoy soap. The whole world is seeing this existing reality!

It is a well-known fact that none of the soaps or shampoos can be a solution to this existing grave garbage situation. Whenever you are out for a walk anywhere in any city each and every corner of the street has filthy and stinking garbage bins, overflowing and surrounded by stray dogs, cats, rats, birds and what not. To add to this, there are the little street urchins who put their little hands into this pile of rubbish looking for plastic bags and bottles. In the process, they are exposed to all kinds of infections, cuts and wounds. They too belong to our own society! We can’t afford to shut our eyes to this miserable situation and walk past, if at all we have any conscience within us.

People are spending a lot of money on advertisements and on other social causes like Pulse Polio, bringing film stars etc. And while lots of donations are given to build hospitals; little thought has been given to the real problem, which is also the reason behind all other problems, which has to be tackled.

For the last 58 years however we have not seen anything happening on this front. We too easily blame the government, politicians, corporators and every other public system we can point our fingers at. Fortunately we have not had any minister for garbage affairs, or else, the public would have by now beaten him up! With the increasing population things are only going from bad to worse.

Now coming to the point, first of all we should stop complaining about and at the same time not ignoring this problem. We have to decide to do something worthwhile in our own individual capacity .We should create an awareness that we should do something for ourselves and thereby help our society, surroundings and ultimately the whole environment.

The household garbage should be considered as our own personal problem and responsibility and it should be taken care of at that level. There is no need to form any groups, collecting donations, giving speeches, street shows etc. All one has to do is separate out the garbage into wet (e.g. kitchen waste & garden waste) and dry (e.g. plastic and other stuff) and then make constructive use of this wet garbage. I’m speaking from my personal experience and feel very happy about it. Some of my friends and neighbors in Magarpatta city, Pune are also following these methods and are very happy. They are able to achieve beautiful gardens in their premises.

Lastly you may ask what one can do with the garbage that accumulates. First of all this garbage need not be thrown out of the premises at all. There are few effective methods by which this can be converted into very useful and excellent manure for all kinds of plants with no smell or odour emanating during the process. Unfortunately these products are not advertised on the T.V. channels. If these are advertised in the future, beautiful plants and flowers may replace the garbage pile in the background with healthy children walking by. The viewers would also feel a sense of pride and joy when they see this.

I have been able to use my kitchen waste and garden waste very effectively by using these methods and can very proudly say that none of my household garbage has ever left my premises!

I appeal to all my friends living on this planet, Mother Earth, who has given us everything starting from life itself, followed by pure air to breathe and pure water to drink and good grains, vegetables and fruits to eat and natural healthy surroundings to live in. Let us also reciprocate with our heart and soul and make this a better, healthier and happier place to live.

I would love to share my experience of using all these recycling methods.