The Humanure Project : Completing the Cycle

The human nutrient cycle is an endless natural cycle and in order to keep the cycle intact, crops should be grown on soil enriched by continuous addition and application of  manure which can be made from human excreta, cow-dung, vegetable peels, rotten vegetables etc. By repeating this cycle of nature, humans can maintain the fertility of the soil indefinitely instead of depleting it of nutrients.

Therefore to conclude the Humanure Experiment, the compost so prepared was used in the lawns of the National Institute of Design on 10 May 2016. The head gardener of NID was a huge help.

The Humanure Project : Microorganisms have a Sweet Tooth

Compost is a home for many types of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi. After all, they conduct the decomposition process. Compost bacteria combine carbon with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and energy. Some of the energy is used for reproduction and growth and the rest is given off as heat.

Addition of jaggery is helpful to the pile as it significantly affects the growth of microbes and cellulose activity and accelerates the rate of fermentation. Yeast, which is used in baking has enzymes which break down starch molecules to simple sugars. Starch is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in many staple foods. The major sources of starch intake worldwide are the cereals (rice, wheat, and maize) and the root vegetables (potatoes and cassava). I am trying to complete the process of composting as soon as possible to validate and set a timeline in which composting can occur. Perhaps, jaggery and yeast are the answer. But that can only be validated by tests and readings. 

Therefore, jaggery mixed with water (sheera) and yeast solution was added to the piles and they were stirred after a long time. They were stirred last time on 14 April 2016 as has been documented here.

 

Jaggery solution : 100 g of jaggery (ground) and 300 g of water (mind you grams not mL)

Yeast solution : 8 pinches of yeast granules and 50 g of water

Pour :  100 g of the jaggery solution (sheera) was poured into each of the piles. 

The Humanure Project : Potty Milkshake

Human Excreta was alternately layered with sawdust, grass and leaves in different containers on Tuesday, 5 April 2016 as documented in a previous post.

Since the piles had been left for a week, the temperature was expected to rise to 50 degree Celsius due to the intense microbial activity happening inside. When organic material is layered, nature seeds it with microscopic creatures that proliferate and digest the pile created. In the process, the heat generated is so much that disease causing pathogens resident in the humanure are destroyed.