The Spark

Alan had exciting ideas to share. His community garden was at the edge of a forest. To make the soil better suited for growing edible plants, he could either spend lots of money buying soil that may be unsustainable or of poor quality, or try amending the soil using available resources.

Alan had walked around the market and realised that baskets of banana peels would be thrown away daily at the goreng pisang (fried banana fritters in Malay) stall. Knowing that banana peels are high in potassium and phosphorus - elements which promote root growth and plant health - Alan had been collecting them in large quantities three times a month for use at his garden. He also collects and uses coffee powder which is good as a compost activator due to its high nitrogen content. Alan was keen to share information with others so that more people could benefit.

Knowing Alan to be someone who does simple yet impactful actions, I knew he was on to something interesting. The concept of adding food scraps to soil or compost was new to me, but I was keen to try it out.