Introducing decentralized composting

in a communityi

(and into the culture of a whole population...)

oJoaquim Moura

Brazil(a practitioner since 1978)

jmoura@agriculturaurbana.org.br

Imagens de Visconde de Mauás

Previous initiatives

1. Shadows in a clear day (1978)

2. For a poisonless food (1979)

3. Domestic gardens - Suggestion: a garden in every home, industrial plant, prison and military quarter (1981)

4. School gardens in Rio de Janeiro (1982)

Other inspiring initiatives

1. New York City composting project2. Brussels’ “Compostage de quartier” 3. Master composter manual (Ithaca NY) 4. “The Bucket Revolution”, in Florianopolis 5. “Compost São Paulo”, in São Paulo

More recent initiatives

1. Urban Agriculture Magazine in Portuguese

2. The Urban Agriculture Gateway

3. Community composting in Visconde de Mauá

4. Improving the composting site of a huge nuclear facility in Rio

5. Implanting composting activity at the Visconde de Maua High School

Introducing composting in the community

1. Waste reduction goals of the Brazilian Solid Residues National Law (2008)

2. Inviting letter for 30 municipalities included in Mantiqueira EPA

3. Acceptance letters from 10 municipalities4. Basic text on community composting

The practical and technical aspects of the project

1. The decentralized composting system2. The pilot-project in Visconde de Mauá3. Printed materials (1 and 2) to help spreading

the system in the region4. Visiting the local hotels, hostels and

restaurants (1 and 2)

Current results and challenges

1. Examples of composters in use in homes, elementary school and hostels

2. Our main constraint: the lack of productivity of the official agencies

The endless Endsince there is the recycling...