Compost Tank Ready at last !

Sometimes the team does extremely well when you give instructions and leave it to their imagination.  We have a multi-skilled person called Paramu on the ground who is friend of Subbu.  Days togather he will be absent. But when he puts his tools, he creates wonder. One such thing is the Compost Tank.

I just gave an overview to Subbu and paramu over phone.  Low cost, holes for breathing,  two compartments etc.  Here is what they have created with least cost < Rs. 10,000/-. It is ready to receive the vegetable waste. Now I have to find the source for it. already I had told Subbu to be on the lookout at market yards and neighbouring farms.   The discovery is that no one is wasting anything. They are putting back to their soil.

Hmmmm......

These are large cement bricks (Size etc covered already earlier)

Foundation. the land is so chosen that nothing would grow.
Plus it is adjascent to the main gate which is to the left hidden in the picture.

Completed. Seen in the background is the green shade net.
Note that there are holes left between bricks. Actually it was made by stubbing the corners of each stone
When one compartment is filled with waste, the other will lye idle. Once this is filled, the other will start filling
thus i gues we will be able to shift the earth worms alternately.

Compost Tank Construction started

This is for the construction of Compost Tank east of the gate for an easy access.  (I wonder the visitors should not be greeted with composting smell - hope the best).    The bricks are to be laid with 1 inch gap between them for proper aeration.

The tank will be having two compartments so that one will be filled with vegetable waste and allowed to compost. While the other will be slowly filling in. once the first one is turned into compost, the it will be emptied and process reversed. That's the idea.  It may also happen that if there are earth worms, they can travel back and forth.

A total of 250 cement bricks at the cost of Rs. 18/- each has been purchased.  Add transport etc it comes to around Rs. 5500/-. Cool. I guess by the time project ends it will be 10,000/- including mason and wages.

"In place of backed mud bricks,
this is coming out cheaper", said Subbu. The normal bricks cost Rs. 5/- each and around 800 will be required.  Therefore compared to that, the cement bricks which are 3 times the size of normal bricks is a better choice.  Nature lovers may however prefer normal bricks. But using flyash bricks is more eco-friendly than normal bricks which require firewood to make.

Logic is great. Anyway decision taken and implemented.

But calculations show there is  not much difference in cost, but otherwise.  
Cement Bricks = 16" x 8" x 4  = 512 cubic inches
Normal Bricks = 9" x 4.5" x 3  = 122 cubic inches

Therefore 1 cement brick = 4 normal brick by volume.
Therefore if 250 bricks are costing Rs. 4500/-, then equivalent 1000 should cost RS. 5000/- by same volume.

Not much difference. But there is definitely difference in weight and cost of handling etc.  The normal bricks have to be brought in two/three vehicles. That will add another 1500 cost.