By George Munene
A Nakuru based company, Griincom composters, is looking to recruit and train, individuals in compost making. With the program set to be rolled out in all 47 counties in Kenya, it is scheduled to begin from the 14th of November that will cost participants Sh20,000.
The company which has been in operation for seven years provides farmers with training on utilising local resources in the making of compost and ways of improving crop production as well as pest management. “The drive behind this program is to cut on the costs of transportation of organic fertilisers across the country from our base in Nakuru,” Martin Waweru, one of the company’s founders explains.
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The materials that will be required to compost not less than 1.2 tonnes are:
Composting Space
Open field or greenhouse space, 10×20 meters, exposed to direct to sunlight.
Animal Waste
- Cattle manure (two tonnes)
- Goat/ sheep droppings (five 90kg bags).
- Poultry droppings (five bags)
- Rabbit droppings (optional based on availability)
Green Matter
- Tithonia (five bags, green)
- Stinging nettle (two bags, green)
- Green farm residues optional (check on nutrient value).
- Green Market waste limited to non-citrus family
Dry Matter
- Maize stalks, bean husks or 15 bags
Wheat / barley straws
- Dry market and farm residue
- Wood ash (5kg)
- Egg shells (10kg—limited to boiled/cooked, NOT from hatching)
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Others
- Cream coloured pollythene, not less than 8×12 meters in good shape.
- Griincom Composter 20liters—Sh 2,000 for quality control of decomposition process.
A 50 kilogram bag of Griincom organic fertiliser costs Sh1500 with a cost production margin of Sh250-300. The company then charges Sh500 for fortification and packaging, this leaves the farmer with a Sh700 profit for every bag. The company also help farmers with client sourcing.
Griincom composters: +254 700 658906