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Household Level Use of EM for Composting Household Waste and Rooftop Vegetable Gardening in Kathmandu City

G. L. Shrestha

Green Energy Mission/Nepal, P.O.Box 10647, Anaam Nagar, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

Kathmandu has been badly polluted with the household level waste of undecomposable plastic bags and decomposable nature. As a result, this city has become probably the dirtiest in the world. Housewives do not want to make the compost from the decomposable waste on the rooftop because of bad smell, and there is no way to reuse it. As a result, such useful decomposable kitchen waste from each household is brought to the streets to be collected by the municipality staff. It causes a chain reaction of pollution from streets to the dumping sites.
The Green Energy Mission/Nepal (GEM/Nepal) found that effective microorganisms (EM) introduced in Nepal by the EMRO were very effective in making excellent compost on the rooftop from the kitchen waste of decomposable nature. This EM- used rooftop compost was found to be an excellent medium for rooftop vegetable gardening at household level under Kathmandu conditions. The main technologies followed are:

1. Management of household waste including kitchen waste of decomposable nature for making compost on the rooftop by using EM through workshops and training the housewives,
2. Technical aspects of rooftop vegetable gardening in each household through training and visit, and. GEM/Nepal has communication with 15 high schools for teaching high school students, and
3. Public awareness of EM value and household level compost making for rooftop vegetable gardening through electronic media - government owned and private televisions and radio stations.