RSP: Mahmood Elahi
Ahmed Khan
From Village Kachi, Beer Valley, Haripur District, April 2017
Ahmed Khan prepares the compost pit with the three essential parts: dung (from his livestock), kitchen waste and green leaves, then tops it off with water – crucial for making compost. Like clockwork, he remembers to turn it from time to time - the first turn given after two weeks, the second after another 3 weeks and the last turn he gives after nine weeks since the start (or 4 weeks after second turn). Within 3 months the compost is full of nutrients and ready to be added to the soil. On an average, it costs Ahmed Khan 7,346 PKR on compost pit making.
Ahmed Khan is a resident of village Kachi in Beer valley of Haripur district. Kachi is a small village with total 250 households and population of about 1750 to 2000. Total land is approximately 20,760 kanal out of which 17,000 Kanal[1] is agricultural land. 90% of the people have agricultural land whereas 10% are landless. 45% of the people fall within the categories of poor and extremely poor, only 2 % are well off. The farmers usually grow wheat and maize and there is no concept of crop rotation.
Ahmed Khan used to serve as class four[2] in labour court and is now on his leave prior to retirement (LPR), hence has time for innovative activities on his land. His son Babar Khan is a school teacher and it was Babar’s interaction with Mehmood Elahi (RSP for NMA project) which generated enough interest for him to offer his piece of land for compost making demos.
Says Ahmed Khan “I have 40 kanals of land but initially I applied this compost on only 2 kanals and did not use synthetic fertilizer. Overall I got 40 maunds[3] of wheat, 8 maunds were from the demo plot. Agreed its yield was a bit less as compared to if I used fertilizer but the taste was very good. The first bite took me back into my past when everything was pure. We have happily stored it for our consumption in the month of Ramadan”.
According to Ahmed Khan, “Compost making is certainly not all that traditional anymore. Previously animals were kept by all farmers whose fresh dung would be used directly onto the fields”. As it would not be properly decomposed and was exposed to sunlight and rain, the nutrients would be washed away making it much less useful for the crops. On the other hand, it is a bit labour intensive as it requires time whereas the artificial fertilizer is a one- time investment and then the farmer can relax.
Ahmed Khan watched reminiscently when 13 people received training on compost making on his demo plots. Carried out in various hamlets and villages, a total of 237 men and 71 women learnt how to make composts. He is amazed at the fact that times go forward yet times go back as well “I remember that in 1973 for the first time a new wheat variety called maxi pak and a fertilizer named daood khel were introduced. It was also the first time a tractor was brought in to plough the fields. Before using these inputs the crop yield was low but with this practice the yield suddenly became high and within no time we farmers detached ourselves from our traditional agricultural practices”. Not concerned with how much yield he gets after using natural compost, he emphasises taste and good health. He firmly believes this way diseases can be warded off due to growing of better nutritious crops.
Ahmed Khan is preparing compost for a second season of cropping. This time he plans to replicate it on 4 kanals of land. He has prepared multiple small kitchen gardens and fenced them with the tree branches to protect from animals and poultry, “I have used indigenous material to show people that with the locally available material you can make such things, it is not necessary to buy expensive items”. Khan uses the compost for growing vegetables such as pumpkin, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd and onions alongside fruits such as lemon, pomegranate, persimmon and guava. Mostly given away as gifts, Khan knows the gesture is sure to win him many blessings because what he is giving away is as organic as possible.
According to this farmer, “One constraint is that this compost is prepared in much less quantity as the available ingredients are less. My land is rain-fed and the plants are thirsty they want water, this time due to less rain even the grain of wheat was small. But my fallback is my 20 cattle, 3-4 of which I sell every year to fetch me a good price”.
The extensive use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides is one of the causes leading to heart disease and disabilities. A nutritious balanced diet is crucial but the only hindrance is financial constraints, people are poor and cannot afford to spend money into compost making. For them it is easy to purchase a bag of urea and spread it into many kanals of land turning dirt into gold. Little are they aware that this gold will soon be spent on their own hospital bills.
The revival of a tradition has instilled a new soul in Ahmed Khan, “I dream of developing the whole of my land gradually into a form of dera [4]where people from the village gather, observe and enjoy nature, learn and inspire. I want to make this dera to show that it has all the blessings of God. I want to rare cattle and poultry and all of this on an organic basis, with no artificial practices. Everyone could be near nature and be inspired enough to consider replicating same on their lands. And this will be my contribution to the future generations of the area”.
The first bit of wheat loaf and vegetables grown with compost took Ahmed back to his past when everything was pure. The revival of tradition has instilled new soul in him as he aspires to contribute to the future generations by making a model are full of all the blessings (vegetables, fruit, cattle and poultry) all grown on organic basis.
[1] 1 acre=8 Kanal
[2] Clerical staff
[3] 1 ton =25 maunds
[4] A common place for men to sit together, have interaction and discussions.
6 Comments
mahmoodelahi
Thank you highlighting composting
kindly replace the following:
...the last turn he gives after nine weeks. Within 6 months the compost....
With:
..the last turn he gives after nine weeks since start (or 4 weeks after second turn). Within 3 months the compost....
Silja Heyland
Thank you for the critical review, mahmoodelahi. It would be very nice to hear an update on the developments of this micro-intervention. Could you please tell us shortly how it developed over the last months till now?
Shazia Hina
Mahmood Elahi sb thank you for reviewing it. You can correct it by clicking "Edit" at the top of the story on the right side of the page. It woud be nice if you it yourself and secondly as Silja Heyland has mentioned about the progress. Is the person still using it and how many people have replicated this technique so far. You may call them and get updates. Thank you so much.
mahmoodelahi
The people around the vicinity of Ahmed Khan compost site are amazed and dedicated to apply the intervention in their lands. Some of them replicated compost making by using mud-stone pits in the super-structure, others dig compost pit in the earth debris near their fields where compost is to be applied or near their cattle yards. The new thing for them is to divide the pit in 3-sections; where two sections are filled with organic material to form heaps by putting animal excreta, vegetation layers on daily basis, the third section is left for turnover of heaps. The second thing is to turn the heaps layer by layer after 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks and leaving further for three weeks to complete 12 weeks (three months). The compost so prepared is full of nutrients and strong enough to supply nutrients to the crop roots as compared to the locally prepared compost.
Twenty five (25) female farmers from three Women Communities from villages, Tilhala and Nolaki visited the above compost site and were briefed on compost making, were eager to replicate the intervention and many of them have constructed compost pits in their lands. Similarly farmers from neighborhood are replicating the intervention gradually by imaging the benefits of organic farming achieved by Ahmad Khan. About 18 farmers from villages Soha, Chinjiala,Chatti and Kakotari have replicated the intervention by interaction with Ahmad Khan and paying visit to his compost site.
A brief achievement and progress of the compost applied is narrated in the monitoring form as followed:
MONITORING FORM
Section 1. BACKGROUND AND BASELINE INFORMATION
Name of project: Mountain Agro-Ecosystem Action Network (MAAN)
Name of RSP: Mahmood Elahi
Name of farmer: Ahmad Khan
Owner or tenant: Owner of land
Name of locality: Zain Kacchi of village Kacchi, Union Council Beer,
District Haripur
Baseline information from field treated with compost:
DATE
AREA OWNED
(Kanal)
CROP TYPE
IN PRACTICE
(Crop Rotation)
AVERAGE PRODUCTION
(kg)
INPUTS
13.05.2016
40
Wheat
Maize
200 kg/ Kanal
160 kg/ Kanal
Wheat seed @ 4.375 Kg per kanal
Maize seed @3.25 Kg per kanal
Section 2 TREATMENT AND INPUTS
2.1 DESIGN
PIT NUMBER
COMPOST HEIGHT (ft)
WIDTH (ft)
BREADTH (ft)
VOLUME (ft3)
SECTIONS
1
5 feet each in section 1 & 2
4 feet each of section 1,2&3
6 feet each of section 1,2 &3
120 cubic feet each of section 1,2&3
3- sections:
(2-for heap
construction
1-section left
for turnover)
2.2 MATERIAL INPUTS TO ESTABLISH COMPOST PIT
PIT NUMBER
TYPE OF MATERIAL COLLECTED FOR PI T
QUANTITY (KG)
SOURCES
OTHER INPUTS
COST
1.
Section 1
Section 2
After completion of section 1
Animal excreta, tree leaves, kitchen vegetable waste and other organic material
Animal excreta, tree leaves, kitchen vegetable waste and other organic material
25 to 30 kg per day
25 to 30 kg per day
Large and small animals
(15-20 in number),
Kitchen waste , Trees & shrubs
Large and small animals
(15-20 in number),
Kitchen waste,
Trees & shrubs
Construction material- cement , stones, water and Labour
Rs:7,346
2.3 TURN-OVERS
DATE OF COMPLETION
OF THE PIT CONSTRUCTION
DATE OF FILLING OF PIT IN SECTION 1& 2
DATE OF 1ST
TURN-OVER
DATE OF 2ND
TURN-OVER
DATE OF 3RD
TURN-OVER
DATE OF COMPLETION OF COMPOST
AND FIELD APPLICATION
COMPOST PREPARATION - Cycle 1
30.07.2016
01.08.2016 to 15.08.2016
16.08.2016
(after 2 weeks)
07.09.2016
(after 3 weeks)
08.10.2016
(after 4 weeks)
31.10.2016 and shifting to the field
(after 3 weeks)
COMPOST PREPARATION - Cycle 2
30.07.2016
01.11.2016 to 15.11.2016
16.11.2016
(after 2 weeks)
07.12.2016
(after 3 weeks)
08.01.2017
(after 4 weeks)
31.01.2017 and shifting to the field
(after 3 weeks)
COMPOST PREPARATION - Cycle 3
30.07.2016
01.02.2017 to 15.02.2017
16.02.2017
(after 2 weeks)
09.03.2017
(after 3 weeks)
08.04.2017
(after 4 weeks)
01.05.2017 and shifting to the field
(after 3 weeks)
COMPOST PREPARATION - Cycle 4
30.07.2016
02.05.2017 to 16.05.2017
17.05.2017
(after 2 weeks)
09.06.2017
(after 3 weeks)
08.07.2017
(after 4 weeks)
01.08.2017 and shifting to the field
(after 3 weeks)
COMPOST PREPARATION - Cycle 5
30.07.2016
02.08.2017 to 16.08.2017
17.08.2017
(after 2 weeks)
09.09.2017
(after 3 weeks)
08.10.2017
(after 4 weeks)
01.11.2017 and shifting to the field
(after 3 weeks)
COMPOST PREPARATION - Cycle 6
30.07.2016
02.11.2017 to 16.11.2017
17.11.2017
(after 2 weeks)
09.12.2017
(after 3 weeks)
10.01.2018
(after 4 weeks)
02.02.2018 and shifting to the field
(after 3 weeks)
Section 3 AFTER COMPOSTING
DATE OF APPLICATION
AREA
(Kanal)
CROP TYPE
PRODUCTION
(kg)
INPUTS
REMARKS
31.10.2016
2 kanal
wheat
320 kg
Local seed
Rain-fed area
31.01.2017
1 kanal
vegetables
775 kg
Seed /seedling
Home based kitchen gardening winter vegetables
01.05.2017
2 kanal
Maize
280 kg
Local seed
Rain-fed area
01.08.2017
1 kanal
vegetables
580 kg
Seed / seedling
Home based kitchen gardening summer vegetables
01.11.2017
2 kanal
wheat
320 kg
Local seed
Rain-fed area
02.02.2018
1 kanal
vegetables
production awaited (kg)
Seed / seedling
Home based kitchen gardening winter vegetables
continued till now
Silja Heyland
Dear Mahmood Elahi,
Thank you for the additional information and the update. Please be so kind to explain what you mean with the use of 'mud-stone pits in the super-structure'. How do the participants experience the compost making? Are they convinced and happy about the results/harvest? Will they continue its application in the next growing season? If possible it would be nice to hear their experiences as well. Thank you for the contribution and exchange!
mahmoodelahi