A citizen-led composting initiative has been launched in Linden with eight families participating in what organisers say is the first phase of a “train-the-trainer” programme aimed at reducing biodegradable waste sent to the Blue Lake dumping site.
According to a release from the Waste To Wealth Caribbean Team, the initiative was launched on June 25 at the Guymine Constabulary Recreational Hall, where eight families, including farmers, youths and housewives, received training in composting techniques and were introduced to the programme’s “Train-the-Trainer” model.
The training was hosted by Outliers Zone Caribbean, the programme’s execution partner, and facilitated by its Chief Executive Officer Athalyah Yisrael and Waste To Wealth Caribbean founder Rampertab Etwaria.
The release said participants received instruction in what the organisation describes as its T.E.C.H. composting method, including the recommended ratio of carbon to nitrogen, the layering of cardboard and kitchen waste, and methods for maintaining compost bins to minimise odours and pests.
The release said each participating household paid $50,000 to receive a backyard composting kit, a Waste To Wealth manual, hands-on training and 12 weeks of coaching leading to their first Organic Miracle Garden Soil (O.M.G.S.) harvest, which participants may either use in their gardens or sell.
According to the release, Etwaria also highlighted the cost of vegetables by citing prices of about $4,000 per pound for celery, $700 per pound for cabbage and $500 per pound for ochro, telling participants that composting could help reduce household food costs.
Upon completion of the programme, participants will be eligible for certification as trainers and may earn income by enrolling and supporting additional families.
The release said the initiative is intended to encourage households to divert kitchen scraps and cardboard from the Blue Lake dumping site, noting that biodegradable material accounts for about 50 per cent of household waste.
Linden Town Clerk Lennox Gasper and Deputy Mayor Wainwright Bethune attended the training and encouraged the participants while inviting additional market vendors, farmers and households to join future cohorts, the release added.
Waste To Wealth Caribbean said follow-up visits conducted on June 28 confirmed that all eight participating families had begun composting. The households will submit weekly progress videos during the 12-week programme while receiving virtual coaching and mentoring.
The release said the first group will serve as a control cohort to generate documented results that could support expansion of the programme to other communities.
The initiative concluded with demonstrations at the Linden Locs Festival, where organisers distributed samples of Organic Miracle Garden Soil and demonstrated how kitchen waste and cardboard can be converted into compost.
According to the release, several participants are members of an established farmers’ cooperative and are exploring the establishment of a commercial compost production facility in Linden to process biodegradable waste from households and market vendors unable to compost on their own properties.
The group is organising to seek financing from the Guyana Development Bank and other funding agencies to support the project.
Waste To Wealth Caribbean said it hopes the Linden initiative will serve as a model that can be replicated in other regions as part of efforts to reduce biodegradable waste entering disposal sites.
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