Earthworms eat their garbage

Jun and Christopher show off their vermicomposting site.

Organic wombok has replaced ornamentals at Good Shepherd.

Sister Guada of the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS) in Baguio City is happy these days. Their long-standing problem of a growing compost mountain, whose smell used to reach the quarters of the sisters, has now been solved.

Good Shepherd is famous for its Mountain Maid brand of ube jam, adobo peanuts, strawberry products, and cookies and such, which visitors line up for. Truckloads of ube, peanuts, strawberries and other produce, are processed into yummy goodies, proceeds of which go into an educational support program. Meanwhile, their composting efforts were not able to keep pace with the volumes of wastes produced.

Jun and Christopher of RGS attended the Vermicomposting training conducted by Tebtebba and Traditional Knowledge Network in June 2009. They received 4 kilos of earthworms in their starter kits. They made their first vermibeds, and started feeding them their accumulated organic wastes. Their earthworms thrived, multiplied and produced vermicompost, which they applied in their gardens.

Their initial success encouraged them to make more vermibeds and transform their previously ornamental gardens into vegetable gardens. Their wombok, pechay, and brocolli are thriving. RGS employees now have access to a supply of organic vegetables for their health and wellbeing. Now, their next step is to introduce vermiculture to their farmer-suppliers of strawberries, to encourage organic farming among them.

Now, RGS effectively manages its wastes, and their experience has made them into staunch advocates of vermicomposting for solid waste management and organic farming. They will soon host the next training on vermi-based technologies for organic farms.

If you go buy a bottle of their ube jam, visit their gardens and vermibeds for lessons in vermicomposting and nutrient cycling.#