Connie & Kamini: The Garbage Eaters

Being environmentally responsible has always been a one step forward, two steps back process for me. Yes, I have those reusable shopping bags but I can never remember to take those darned things with me when I go out. While I recycled to the best of my abilities in the U.S., I also routinely pumped yogurt containers and soiled diapers, among other things, into landfills. And at grocery stores I would pick up the organic broccoli with a self-satisfied smile only to turn the corner and balk at the price of organic milk.
A little green handbook that I once bought at a Barnes & Noble exhorted me to bigger and better things in the eco-friendly area. "Go solar", it urged or "Consider wind power". "Reuse dirty water", it said in a reprimanding tone as I poured day old water from the children's water bottles into the sink. And "why not simplify your life?" it inquired politely as I struggled to squeeze clothes into dresser drawers and find ways to organize an out-of-control toy and book collection.
And so I was really happy the day I brought Kamini home. She is a comely lady who I picked up from a house in Bangalore's Indiranagar area last week. Once I got home and deposited her in the backyard, I went and opened my little green handbook to a page headed "compost your organics" and did a triumphant fist pump in the air.
You see, Kamini is a composting system made up of three stacked terracotta chambers. She joins Connie, a similar composter that my sister-in-law across the street acquired the day before from the same source, a small Bangalore-based venture called the Daily Dump whose model for putting waste to good use is beautifully simple. Take some pots, throw in some compost starter and lots of garbage and voila, you soon have plenty of rich, nourishing humus (not to be confused with the mediterranean chickpea dip) for the garden. Then - even if you are horticulturally challenged like I am - just watch this garden grow!
My sister-in-law and I also picked up a couple of packages of the Daily Dump's Soapy Nuts, a natural plant-based alternative to laundry detergents and a way to limit chemical run-off into water streams. So far the experiment is working reasonably well. The clothes don't come out smelling great but they look clean enough and can pass a quick inspection test.
Next up on the list of environmentally friendly actions: dusting. It's in keeping with the spirit of this blog and my little green handbook informs me that regular dusting of light bulbs and appliances improves their efficiency and reduces energy consumption. So bring on the feather duster.