Navi Disha- Reorientation

Like an abrupt pause brought upon a symphony of sounds, our lives were struck shut in the year 2020.Yet, an intangible ray of hope continued to outshine all adversities prevailing around the nation. A few minds persisted with the aim to bring about positive changes in our surroundings, no matter the circumstances. Few voices continued affirming with thoughtful words. One amongst those voices was the voice of Melicio Fernandes, a man in his early forties, residing in Deussa, Chinchinim, motivated and supremely mindful.

“We used to spend most of our time in the lawn outside, and through a few interactions we shared, I was fortunate to get associated with Mrs. Pereira, who introduced me to the concept of Home Composting, with leaves and kitchen waste.

It was transforming for me, I not only got a purpose but also a perspective that entirely changed the way I and my family perceived waste”

The CEGP Team went to meet Mr. Melicio for an interview in order to capture his outlook on wet-waste management. While all of them were in his backyard which pleasantly reflected the glory of goodness, fruity smells and aroma of freshly grown vegetables, he took them for a stroll across his lawn, showcasing the organic produce which was a result of home-made compost.

He has separate sags for dry and wet compost, one from leaves and other from kitchen and mixed waste, respectively.

He, along with his son and wife, manages the waste produced at home. When asked about the possible challenges of the process, with conviction he said, “You only reap benefits. When we walk thrice a day to our yard to put waste into the compost, we exercise. We don’t buy manure anymore, and hence we save. We grow our own fruits and vegetables, we reduce health risk. We don’t burn, we preserve.”

Mr. Melicio, while treating the team with his home grown tropical fruits, explained that the only sum of money they had to invest was at the initial stage, after which, there was only maintenance. 

He believes people should engage themselves in such activities, because unless we ourselves will not understand the environmental concerns, the coming days will be detrimental. It takes from us nothing, but gives us a lot from what we consider as nothing.