Editor’s note: Jugaad is a Hindi word often used to describe clever, resourceful, and low-cost problem-solving - usually with whatever materials are available. This series, written by Sangeetha, captures her no-fuss, no-frills journey into home composting - one jugaad at a time. In Part 1 of Jugaad Composting, Sangeetha told us how a WhatsApp status about food waste nudged her into the world of home composting. Her zero-waste journey began in suburban Mumbai - with equal parts nostalgia, determination, and chaos.
Now, in Part 2, we pick up where she left off.
Having started waste separation in Mumbai, I had no intention of discontinuing. I quickly went online and found Ecobin - tall compost bins with good aeration and water drainage, ideal for home composting. But with just a 750 sq ft apartment and box-grilled windows, even that investment seemed daunting.
So, in the spirit of circularity, I used old plastic flower pots, drilled holes in them, and set them up in the window grill. Every day, I tossed in food scraps - peels, coffee grounds, even dairy - and layered it with soil from my flower pots.
At first, I was excited. I stirred it daily (please don’t do that), and nothing seemed to change. There were, however, a few positive indications - red wiggler worms, no maggots, no smell, no wetness - thank you, Mumbai summer! But I was too impatient and the frequent tossing was interfering with the composting. Discouraged, I ignored the compost pile for almost a month.
One day, I peeked inside - and voila! A tiny little batch of compost ! It looked like soil but darker, and smelled like soil. I find it hilarious that the immediate thought I had was to start selling compost on Amazon as a side hustle. It blows my mind that people are throwing away perfectly good organic waste - only to buy it back later as compost from someone else.
That initial encouragement was enough and I pursued that seemingly lofty goal of Zero food waste in our house.
Unfortunately, that was short lived thanks to my move to the US and from afar, I couldn’t wield the same influence on my parents (my bad!) and they went back to binning their food waste.
But did I stop? No way.
Coming up next:
What happens when you carry your composting spirit halfway across the world - to a Los Angeles apartment? In the next post, I take you to my balcony bins, skeptical husband, and the myths I had to bust about composting abroad.
Written by Sangeetha for I Will Circle Back.
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