Fighting Poverty in Belize: Composting- A Magic Trick

Today was another GAIA action day, where we participate in activities here at the school that help us to be more sustainable and with the water tank finished (for now), and the weather as cold as it is, there isn't a whole lot that can be done. However, the tasks for today were extremely valuable. We started with a little over view of composting and how it works, and then went out to tend to the compost that we have here at the school.

My parent's had composting off and on at our house, but I never really cared much about it- all I knew was that it was stinky, and that was enough for me to let my parents handle it themselves.
Being here at IICD and continuing to learn more about our planet's conditions and the future that we face, I am becoming more and more aware of how necessary sustainability is, as well as how easy it can be to start making changes, and how important it is to make the changes now, not later.
There are bins that you can buy from home improvement stores, but I would bet you that building your own is cheaper, and more fun! Our compost here at IICD is above the ground, but you can also dig a pit and your composting underground. We have three compartments: the first one is where all of your food scraps go. You can put all organic material in here (not organic as in organic produce, but as in material that will break down) including egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, leftover food, and even cooking oil. The only reason you should not put something in the compost is dependent on where you live. Cooked food can attract animals that is something you should consider when you plan your compost. The only maintenance that is required with this pile is to occasionally go in and chop up the food. By breaking it down into smaller pieces, it will break down faster. You want to this pile to remain moist and juicy.
The second pile, you want to layer this moist food with dry material. For this you can use recycled newspaper, shredded paper, all of the dry leaves from you yard, the grass you collect when mowing, and any other branches or twigs you have. Now, instead of having to pay to get all of this stuff thrown out or taken away by the city recycling, you can put it to good use in your yard! You layer the dry materials with the wet mush and then leave it. You want to keep it covered so that it can stay warm inside. Over time, it will break down and compact, and you can keep piling more and more.
The third pile is where you put this dry wet mixture after it has broken down and mixed together. It sits in this third bin to finish the process, and to be stored until ready to use!
Today, after we chopped and transferred, we brought buckets of the compost inside and layered it with the regular soil and planted some vegetables and beans in pots to have for the winter. We also looked up what vegetables like to grow together, and planted ours accordingly.
Compost soil is so dark and rich- it looks like the stuff people buy in the stores for a lot money- but better! When we have gardens, the plants use the nutrients from the soil to grow. So when we go to plant new stuff, we need to put nutrients back into the soil. Rather then paying money for someone to take away your food scraps that will go sit in a landfill, and then go spend more money for "good soil", why not save all of that money and use the food to enrich the soil for the new food!?
I know it is winter, and most people are happy for the excuse to not think about their gardens for a while. But now is the perfect time to build your compost and start collecting food. Although it won't break down while its cold, once it starts to warm up, the process will begin and by the time you are ready to plant in your garden, you will have this beautiful nutritious soil to use!

Here are some picture of the process: