Millennial from Rizal creates do-ityourself vermicomposting kit to help reduce household food waste
A MILLENNIAL from Rizal has turned her interest in vermicomposting and reducing food waste into a growing side business. Neica Dela Cruz, a 27-year old freelance filmmaker based in Rizal, started vermicomposting as her means of contributing to their community in reducing household food waste.
Vermicomposting is a method of composting which uses worms to convert food scraps, manure, and other biodegradable waste into worm poop or “vermicast,” which makes for very good fertilizer. Vermicomposting needs both carbon and nitrogen-rich materials to be able to decompose. Carbon-rich materials such as used paper, leaves, etc. are used for the worms’ bedding, while nitrogen-rich food scraps and green manure serve as worm food.
After researching on the internet, Dela Cruz, who does not have any background on vermicomposting, began making Do-It-Yourself (DIY) bins which she calls ‘Worm Kubo.’ The bins on this kubo (native nipa hut in the Philippines), serve as homes to African nightcrawlers, the specific type of worm used in vermicomposting.
She started with three vermicomposting bins whose worms were fed household food scraps. As the worms continued to reproduce, she expanded the number of bins – from ‘worm apartments’ (three to four bins stacked), to ‘worm hotels’ (several rows of stacked 3-4 bins), to a total of 23 bins. Soon enough, food wastes from their own household became insufficient to feed the worms so she began to collect food scraps and other biodegradable wastes, like toilet paper and egg shells, from the stalls in the nearby public market, as well as from the local bakeries and restaurants, to meet her worm’s feed