Hey guys,
from a very long time I have been getting a request
to make videos in Hindi
So, I thought of taking a poll

I asked 'how many of you would like me to make videos in Hindi as well'
Surprisingly, a majority of you said that I must try making Hindi videos.
So, finally we have decided..
to make at least one Hindi video every month now onwards
and in today's video
I will talk to about 'how to prepare compost at home'
The concept behind preparing compost at home
is very simple
We need a big terracotta pot
to collect the kitchen waste
This is a 'Khamba'. Its a proper home composter
In case it is not accessible to you
You can also a use a clay water pot / matka/ ghadda
There are two major differences between a khamba and a matka/ clay water pot:
First, a khamba has holes for aeration
Aeration is extremely important for the functioning of the microbes
The second difference among them is..
the diameter of their opening
Khamba has a wider opening
adding food is easier in this one
Matka has a narrower opening
Since, matka does not have any aeration holes
therefore, we are going to make some holes in it
this is very easy
You can use any thing sharp
such as a knife or a screw driver
and try to hammer that in
Its better to make small holes
otherwise the water from the kitchen waste..
will start seeping out
I have made about 5-6 holes in this
If you like you can make more
Don't make more than 10 holes for this size of matka
Now, we also need some holes at the bottom
These will be bigger in size from the previous ones
These bottom holes will help in..
the water from the kitchen waste to come out
This water can be collected
in a utensil like this one
So, the water from the compost
will collect in it
In the absence of such holes
the water will start collecting in the matka itself
resulting in a slurry
this will hinder the process of decomposition
So, the bottom holes are very important
And the compost water that will collect in here
is very nutritious
You can use it as a fertiliser
It is referred to as 'compost tea'
and we will cover this on top
For people who are just beginners at composting
This is a very good idea
You can use any old matka for it
Now, I am going to add kitchen waste
While adding kitchen watste..
remember not to put
anything acidic such as lemons
or anything having vinegar
This will slow down the process
Also avoid non-vegetarian food
that won't decompose
In this you can add both..
cooked as well as uncooked food
Some people add paper as well
You can..
But I avoid newspaper as it contains lots of dyes
The other thing we will add
are dried leaves and grass
I collect all the dried foliage in a paper bag
If you stay in a building..
and you don't have dry leaves to add
you can ask the gardener to..
..save dried leaves from the lawn for you
Now we will just add them
The reason for adding this dry matter is to maintain a certain C:N ratio
Remember in school, we were taught something about C: N ratio and its importance
So, the fresh waste i.e. kitchen waste
is rich in Nitrogen
but the decomposing microbes
like a certain amount of Carbon as well
So, the kitchen waste will bring Nitrogen
And dry matter will bring in Carbon
Now, the relative amount of
dry matter and kitchen waste should be 1 : 2
Maintaining this ratio very important
Actually, my entire Ph.D. was..
all about C:N and decomposition
in forest systems
Talking about Carbon and Nitrogen really excites me
But for you this much information is enough
that we have maintain a ratio of
1:2 for dry leaf matter (browns) : kitchen waste (greens)
Now our composter is ready
I am going to add curd to this
If you like you can buy a special media for this
But you really don't need it
I will also add some soil
For composting..
I keep a separate wooden spatula
Its from our kitchen
Its better than the metal ones
Now we will mix them
I have been using this khamba from before
You can see fungus has started growing
If this starts smelling..
then you must sir it a little
for aeration
Anaerobic respiration results in a foul smell
One more thing
If you keep adding kitchen waste
It causes in concentration of Nitrogen to go up
And less carbon
This can also result in foul smell
So, adding carbon sources in form of
dry leaf matter is very important to maintain the C : N
Always add dry leaves and grass to your compost mixture
It will take a month or two for the compost to be ready
So, I collect my kitchen waste for every 3-4 days
in a dustbin
and then I add it to the matka or khamba
To fill this matka, it will take me 3-4 weeks
But if this isn't enough for you
You can add more matkas's on top
The waste I have added today
will take a month or two to decompose
The process totally depends on..
the temperature and humidity
A lot of people suggest plastic buckets as well
but for me that has never worked out
I think the reason is..
The plastic bucket makes
it difficult to maintain the suitable environment
for decomposition
In a terracotta pot
Maintaining suitable environment is easier
This process likes a little warm and moist environment
which is difficult to maintain in a plastic bucket
Also the plastic is impermeable
Even if you drill some holes in it
it is not as effective as terracotta
Terracotta pots for composting
are my personal favourite
And if you don't want to buy a khamba..
you can start with a matka
If you would like us to make
more such simple Hindi videos
then do let us know down below in the comments
and don't forget to subscribe
The best part of composting is
not only that you will get
organic home-made compost
If you have realised
that the 50% of our daily domestic waste
turns out to be kitchen waste
and since in most parts of our country
segregation is not followed
All of this waste gets dumped in the landfills
Landfills are these huge mountains
that you might have noticed and smelled
outside ever big city
So, if we start segregating and composting kitchen waste
which is very simple to do
You just need an earthen pot, some curd and soil
This small and simple process
can considerably reduce the amount of waste getting dumped in the landfills
And if you don't need so much of compost
You can distribute it to friends and family
You must try this once.
