Worm breeding inspires crisis-hit economy<\/p>\n
By Mehru Jaffer<\/p>\n
CIPANAS, West Java (JP): Do not laugh if you hear about a man
\nwho earns his living raising worms. Vermiculture, the science of
\nbreeding earthworms, is wriggling its way into more hearts than
\none, especially after the onset of the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Ferry, who is 31 years old and a father of three, recalls
\nspending two terrible years without a job until he accidentally
\nwandered into the earthworm ecology farms in Cipanas, West Java.<\/p>\n
From a family of traditional rice farmers in Central Java,
\nFerry left his village to be a roving salesman for a factory
\nwhich manufactured furniture parts. He was doing fine until the
\ncrisis caused the factory to go bankrupt, leaving him jobless.<\/p>\n
A year ago he ventured into West Java where he heard of
\nBiomiks Worm Farming, a place that is still desperately looking
\nfor more farmhands. Today Ferry is a member of Biomiks
\nCooperative Society and earns a fixed income of Rp 400,000 per
\nmonth plus about Rp 350,000 in profit sharing in an area where
\nthe minimum wage for farmers is between Rp 150,000 and Rp 200,000
\nper month. With his future and income secure, he is able to enjoy
\nthe luxury of a third child.<\/p>\n
Prasetyo Seno, the president of Biomiks, is forever on the
\nlookout for other unemployed people like Ferry who are looking
\nfor alternative ways to earn a livelihood. An architect and real
\nestate developer, Seno became interested in vermiculture when he
\nplanned environmentally friendly housing for residents in
\nBandung.<\/p>\n
In the housing complex he built he wanted to provide residents
\nwith a facility for disposing organic waste with a minimum impact
\non the environment.<\/p>\n
Soon he was introduced to vermiculture and vermicomposting,
\nthe process of feeding household waste to worms. That is when he
\nrealized how desperate farmers in this country are for
\nfertilizer. He was inspired by the Cubans, who used fertilizer
\nmade from worm powder in the absence of petrochemical fertilizers
\nfrom former communist allies and after the U.S. slapped economic
\nsanctions on the country.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesians are in a similar situation at the moment. Out of
\n56 factories producing fertilizer before the crisis, 50 have
\nclosed down. The six factories still in operation are unable to
\nsell their products as the cost is too high for the local
\nfarmer,\" explained Seno, who added that the country needs at
\nleast 16 million tons of fertilizer each month. However, only 10
\npercent is available, and even that is not affordable.<\/p>\n
What he would like to see is entrepreneurs here making their
\nown fertilizer, which will resolve multiple problems like
\nunemployment and lifting the agro-industry out of its current
\nstate of depression. At Biomiks, the farmers produce five tons of
\nfertilizer, but even that is not enough to meet demands. One
\nfactory requires 2,500 tons each month.<\/p>\n
Organic compost made from worm powder is considered valuable
\nfor farms and cattle feed. It is said to increase the yield of
\nvegetables and to sweeten fruit. A quick glance around reveals
\nthat the worm farming industry is going through a boom phase all
\nover the world. The main reason for that is an increase in
\nawareness about environmental waste management and the
\nminimization which worms are capable of resolving as they eat
\neverything and breed copiously in a very basic habitat. In the
\nU.S., Mary Appelhof, author of Worms Eat My Garbage, a book about
\nhome vermicomposting, recently released a revised edition of her
\nbook, which has sold over 100,000 copies.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview, Appelhof said, \"The interest now is
\njust growing -- more and more people are doing it. It's
\ndefinitely changed not only my life, but now there are large-
\nscale projects ... At the time I started, I didn't believe there
\nwas an industry. I believe there is a developing industry
\nnow ...\"<\/p>\n
The Australian Worm Growers Association boasts a membership of
\nover 600 individuals. In the Indian city of Pune, grape yields
\nincreased to 15 tons per acre after the use of vermicompost. This
\nwas higher than yields under conventional fertilization.<\/p>\n
Not only does a worm breeding business cost very little to
\nsetup, but it can be established on a small area of land and run
\non a part-time basis. In Jakarta alone, about 100 worm farms
\nalready dot the city with four to five people manning each one.<\/p>\n
Biokos is one of the bigger farms in West Java where more than
\n20 farmers, along with their families, have managed to stave off
\nstarvation by breeding earthworms.<\/p>\n
\"One way of converting land in an urban area that was not
\noccupied after the real estate business went bust, and to fight
\nunemployment, is to start vermiculture activities,\" said Bambang
\nWasono Basoeki Rachmat, a member of the Vermi Cooperative
\nSociety.<\/p>\n
He said that about 52,000 hectares of land in the Jabotabek
\n(Greater Jakarta) area alone has become wasteland. He wants the
\ncooperative society to act as a social safety net for all those
\nmillions who lost their jobs in recent months and do not know
\nwhere their next meal will come from.<\/p>\n
For this same reason, Bambang and Seno visit factories that
\nare about to close down and talk about the benefits of earthworm
\nfarming to employees who will soon be jobless.<\/p>\n
The two entrepreneurs have also sent out about 1,000 container
\nbins to schools in Lampung, South Sumatra. The bins are an
\nextremely efficient flow-through system where worms are fed all
\nthe waste from the institution, leaving behind tons of compost
\nwith minimal investment or supervision.<\/p>\n
The idea then is to collect and hand over industrial,
\nagricultural and even personal waste to the vermifarmer in return
\nfor an environment that promises to become healthy again.<\/p>",
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