I´d like to start this humble article by sharing this old saying “We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children”.
I´ve heard that phrase many times in my life but it was not until I became a mother myself that I truly understood the depth of its meaning. This journey has taken me to be an off-grid woman when it comes to energy for cooking and nutrients for my soil and plants.
Allow me to share with you: Almost ten years ago, after becoming a mom, which is the most wonderful thing in the world (and the hardest job too), I was lucky enough to be able to take my first steps into a more sustainable life. I come from a “normal-consumerist” family; my parents, one Asian and the other one European, never really thought twice when purchasing something, not its impact, nor the real need and not even the source. They were not together since I was 5 years old and that meant I´d get double as many things (birthday presents, clothes, stationery stuff, etc..) and it never bothered me, on the contrary, the more things the merrier. Oh, THANK YOU, GOD, Allah, Shiva, Buda, and the Universe that this is quite different for my children and me nowadays.
I remember the transition was not easy: buying organic food, even soap, and detergent, fewer containers, and no plastic, even today it´s still a challenge sometimes. My first compost was a real story! Quite a bit of a disaster, a lot of investigation, doubts, and I endured all the bugs (including rats), the smell, and the complaints from those around me…until one wonderful day, I discovered Homebiogas. A digester that upcycles all your food waste (organic waste, name it: peels, bones, rotten stuff, leftovers of all sorts – even pet poo!). You just toss it in this big bag and the bacteria in it (just like the ones in our tummy) magically convert it into biogas, yes! And you can cook with it, you can plug it into a biogas stove, a bio-lamp, a bio-rice cooker, etc…PLUS the bag is just dripping rich organic bio-fertilizer. It is a miracle! It´s amazing! Life-changing experience.
So, after 3 years of cooking on this biogas, I gathered all my savings and bought myself a full 20ft container of these digesters to share with all of you. Well, in the middle, I had to set up a company in Singapore, another one in Indonesia, and deal with all the export-import processes, etc…but it’s all worth it to have ready stock on the doorstep any time you´re ready to take this step forward.
If you are keen to see a unit, there is one in Ubud and soon other ones in the North and West, and hoping many many more will be installed all over the island, the country, and the world! So we will not have to see those horrible images of a landfill ever again.
For me the biggest achievement is for our children when they realize how valuable waste is; segregation of waste happens almost automatically because they understand when the waste is mixed, not much can be done. Organic waste into the Homebiogas, plastic, paper, cans, … to be recycled (it´s still a source of income for many families), and the most important thing: LESS IS MORE! Be mindful of what you buy and its packaging.
For more info: http://www.ecoverdesolu.com
