|
|
|
|
Clever Waste and Soil
Homemade "facility" to process manure and urine. You'de be amazed at the fact that there is no smell! Everything returns to the natural cycle without harming the environment. 99.09.19/ Temperature: 13C/ Weather: Overcast /Wind Direction: SW
Start: Shari Hama Koshimizu, Okhotsu Village
Destination: Koshimizucho, Mr Takedatsu's House/Longitude: 43 55 17 N/ Longitude: 144 28 53
Distance Traveled: 0 KmI was nervous when I arrived here in Okhostk Village yesterday. This will be the first wisdom point of our long adventure and I wasn't sure how things would go with meeting the locals, how they would receive me, and how much I would be able to learn from them. This turned out to be little of a problem. Veterinarian, photographer, writer, and environmentalist, Mr. Takedatsu Minoru was very receptive of me and quite excited to show me what he and his friends are up to here at Okhotsk Village.
We arrived at the first "facility" that he was going to show me. This "facility" was a processing line for cow manure and urine. The cow stable rested at the top of the hill. "From up top there the manure and urine come down to this next level," he told me while pointing to a flat bog just above us. The manure is then converted into soil and "then the urine flows down into here."
We were standing on top of three large shovel dug holes that have been covered with tarps. The entire operation was made by hand. The urine and a little manure is brought into the first of the large holes where there is soil bacteria and microorganisms waiting to decompose the urine. The bacteria and microorganisms decompose the urine at a much faster rate than if the urine were just thrown into the soil or into a waterway. In only two to three weeks the urine can be spread on field and in only 4 months the dung turns to soil. By the time it reaches the third bin, "the urine is cleaner than drinking water," says Mr. Takedatsu.
Why? Why and how did all of this start was my first question. Apparently the pollution of local rivers and the ocean, located very closely, was a problem from quite some time ago. It is believed that the water effected the trout and salmon catch in the ocean. Mr Takedatsu told me, "We just tried to return to the old cycle. Cow manure used to be a product; people used it for fertilizer. When the number of cows increased rapidly, what was once a product became 'waste'. The old cycle is good because it didn't make waste. So long as the manure isn't waste, there is no problem."
The final products of urine and manure can both be used and are both being sold. In fact a few years back 300 tons were stolen from one of the facilities! Manure is spread throughout fields. "It isn't the best manure but it helps and it doesn't create environmental problems, says Mr. Takedatsu." The urine, if of high quality can be used as disinfectant and can also be used as an additive for bails of hay.
I don't know if it was a test but Mr. Takedatsu said I should wash my hand with the urine. Not hesitating I poured some over my hands; there was no smell at all! The dirt on my hands also washed right away.
Later in the evening while enjoying barbecued lamb and vegetables I was able to speak with the Mr. Takedatsu a little bit more about their activities. Mr. Takedatsu has told me that here in Koshimizu they don't participate in any "fancy" environmental protection, but that they do what they can to have it be a normal daily activity. "It does no good to make big promises about the environment and not be able to do anything about it," he said. "None of us is trying very hard, but we may be doing the most," was Mr. Takedatsu's last statement. I agree with him about how much they have done here in Koshimizu but I think that all of the members gathered last night were trying a little harder than they know. The mere fact that their environmental action is part of their daily lives makes their great accomplishments seem very average.
I still have more to tell you all but not enough time to write. Stay tuned till tomorrow.
Greg
to Top News Page of Wisdom
< >
Copyright World School Network & ECO-CLUB, 1998-99. No reproduction or republication without written permission.
Send feedback to info@wschool.net
