pune her residence near deccan gumkhana especially the ground floor that houses sacks full of leaf litter discarded kitchen waste and vegetables and dry coconut peels may be a bit confounding to firsttime visitors many may assume that the collection is garbage on its way out of the fourthfloor home of the bhide family the reality is exactly the oppositepriya bhide a qualified paediatric physiotherapist along with her chartered accountant husband sunil and two daughters will soon lug all of these sacks left there by friends neighbours and a nearby vegetable vendor all the way up to their roof to convert the waste into compostto many the idea of a rooftop garden may be to enjoy the best of flowers and greens in times of leisure for priya its actually a mini garbage treatment plant where she uses biodegradable waste to make her own soil through vermiculture using earthworms and mixing it with cocopith neem cake cow dung and water she uses this organic nutrientrich soil to cultivate fruits and vegetables like bananas papaya chillies cauliflower tomato brinjal gourds spinach lettuce amla spices like turmeric and even flowers and greens some of which the family occasionally distribute among friends and wellwishersthe bhides have been doing this since the family shifted here in 2006 priya said i was passionate about gardening but did not want to bring in soil from outside as that would mean disturbing the ecology of the source so we thought of making our own soil we now collect leaf litter typically during november to april kitchen waste comes not only from our house but also from neighbours and a vegetable vendor nearby who gives us the things he may have discarded the actual work is done by the earthworms that decompose all the waste some people approached the family with the leftovers of coconuts typically the dry brown shavings on top which they could not dispose of naturally after experimenting with different ways of utilizing them the bhides came up with a use for that as fuel for their indigenous stove chulha several times a week now the family prepares its dinner not in the kitchen but on the rooftop sometimes in the company of inquisitive friends who drop in for a taste of the traditional style of cooking its a pleasure activity for us and a break from monotony peels of four coconuts are enough fuel to make khichadi and usal for seven people the best part is that nothing goes waste more than waste management we feel this is resource management priya adds she stresses on the importance of waste segregation and composting is simple and can be done by anyone even if its only in four small pots at home if the correct technique is followed there is no chance of any foul smell or anything else going wrong as nature takes care of everything in the end its a great feeling of being able to do something for society everyone thinks