1.2 Detalhes do contato das pessoas capacitadas e instituições envolvidas na avaliação e documentação da tecnologia

Nome da(s) instituição(ões) que facilitou(ram) a documentação/ avaliação da Tecnologia (se relevante)

ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) - Nepal

1.3 Condições em relação ao uso da informação documentada através de WOCAT

Quando os dados foram compilados (no campo)?

01/03/2013

O/a compilador/a e a(s) pessoa(s) capacitada(s) aceitam as condições relativas ao uso de dados documentados através da WOCAT:

Sim

2.1 Descrição curta da tecnologia

Definição da tecnologia:

Vermicomposting or worm composting is a simple technology for converting biodegradable waste into organic manure with the help of earthworms.

2.2 Descrição detalhada da tecnologia

Descrição:

Earthworms are valued by farmers because, in addition to aerating the soil, they digest organic matter and produce castings that are a valuable source of humus. Vermicomposting, or worm composting is a simple technology that takes advantage of this to convert biodegradable waste into organic manure with the help of earthworms (the red worm Eisenia foetida) with no pile turning, no smell, and fast production of compost. The earthworms are bred in a mix of cow dung, soil, and agricultural residues or predecomposed leaf-litter. The whole mass is converted into casts or vermicompost, which can be used as a fertilizer on all types of plants in vegetable beds, landscaping areas, or lawns.

Purpose of the Technology: Worms are so effective at processing organic waste that they can digest almost half their own weight in debris every day. Vermicomposting is a simple composting process that takes advantage of what earthworms do naturally, but confines the worms to bins making it easier for farmers to feed them and to harvest their nutrient-rich compost. Since all worms digest organic matter, in principle, any type of worm can be used; however, not all are equally well adapted to living in bins since some worms prefer to live deep in the soil while others are better adapted to living closer to the surface. The red worm (Eisenia foetida) is ideal for vermicomposting because its natural habitat is close to the surface and it is accustomed to a diet rich in organic matter, this makes it ideally suited to digesting kitchen scraps and to living in bins.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Vermicomposting can be carried out in different types of containers. There are only a few requirements for a good worm pit, the most important being good ventilation; the pit needs to have more surface area than depth (wide and shallow) and it needs to have relatively low sides. The base of the worm pit is prepared with a layer of sand then alternating layers of shredded dry cow dung and degradable dry biomass and soil are added. Under ideal conditions, 1,000 earthworms can covert 45 kg of wet biomass per week into about 25 kg of vermicompost.

Natural / human environment: Worm castings contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorous, and eleven times more potassium than ordinary soil, the main minerals needed for plant growth. The vermicompost is so rich in nutrients that it should be mixed 1:4 with soil for plants to be grown in pots and containers. Vermicompost should not be allowed to dry out before using.

Note: This type of vermicomposting is sometimes referred to as 'Pusa' vermicomposting because it was popularized in South Asia by the Rajendra Agricultural University located in Pusa, Bihar, India.

2.3 Fotos da tecnologia

2.5 País/região/locais onde a tecnologia foi aplicada e que estão cobertos nesta avaliação

2.7 Introdução da tecnologia

Especifique como a tecnologia foi introduzida:

• durante experiências/ pesquisa
• através de projetos/intervenções externas

3.1 Principal/principais finalidade(s) da tecnologia

• Improve fertilizer

3.2 Tipo(s) atualizado(s) de uso da terra onde a tecnologia foi aplicada

Comentários:

Major land use problems (compiler’s opinion): Crop productivity is limited by poor soil fertility, intense cropping, and a scarcity of irrigation water. Farmers notice a marked decrease in the health of their crops and degraded soil conditions when chemical fertilizers are overused. Vermicomposting is a low input response to this problem.

Forest products and services: fuelwood

Other forest products and services: fodder

3.4 Grupo de GST ao qual pertence a tecnologia

• Gestão integrada de fertilidade do solo
• Gestão de resíduos/gestão de águas residuais

3.5 Difusão da tecnologia

Especifique a difusão da tecnologia:

• Aplicado em pontos específicos/concentrado numa pequena área

3.6 Medidas de GST contendo a tecnologia

3.7 Principais tipos de degradação da terra abordados pela tecnologia

Comentários:

Main causes of degradation: soil management

3.8 Redução, prevenção ou recuperação da degradação do solo

Especifique o objetivo da tecnologia em relação a degradação da terra:

• Prevenir degradação do solo

4.1 Desenho técnico da tecnologia

4.2 Especificações técnicas/ explicações do desenho técnico

Establishing a vermicompost pit
Diagram showing the layers needed to set up a vermicompost pit. Note that the middle layer is the thickest; the worms start here and eat both upwards and downwards. It is best to house the pit under a thatched or plastic roof in order to shield it from excessive sunshine and rain.

Technical knowledge required for field staff / advisors: moderate

Technical knowledge required for land users: moderate

Main technical functions: increase in nutrient availability (supply, recycling,…), Improve Soil Fertility

Secondary technical functions: improvement of topsoil structure (compaction), Stabilizes that soil

4.3 Informação geral em relação ao cálculo de entradas e custos

Especifique como custos e entradas foram calculados:

• Por unidade de tecnologia

Especifique a moeda utilizada para os cálculos de custo:

• Dólares norte-americanos

4.4 Atividades de implantação

	Atividade	Tipo de medida	Periodicidade
1.	A low cost pit can be constructed with bricks on a moist or shaded site
2.	If bricks are not available, stones can be used for the pit construction;
3.	alternatively, a wooden or bamboo box or a plastic tray can also be used.
4.	Vermicompost pits are best started during the summer months.
5.	A thatched roof was built over the pit to help retain moisture in the heap
6.	at a level of approximately 40–50%, as well as to maintain an optimal temperature of about 20–30oC.
7.	Sand, soil, cow dung, and leaf litter are piled up as shown in the diagram.
8.	Material Used are Bricks and cement, dry cow dung, plastic sheet/bamboo, earthworm (around 2000)

4.5 Custos e entradas necessárias para a implantação

	Especifique a entrada	Unidade	Quantidade	Custos por unidade	Custos totais por entrada	% dos custos arcados pelos usuários da terra
Mão-de-obra	Construction of pit	persons/day/unit	10,0	5,0	50,0
Material de construção	Brick and cement	unit	1,0	70,0	70,0
Material de construção	Dry cow dung	unit	1,0	10,0	10,0
Material de construção	Plastic sheet/bamboo	unit	1,0	70,0	70,0
Material de construção	Earthworm (2000)	unit	1,0	60,0	60,0
Custos totais para a implantação da tecnologia					260,0

Comentários:

Duration of establishment phase: 3 month(s)

4.6 Atividades recorrentes/manutenção

	Atividade	Tipo de medida	Periodicidade/frequência
1.	Water regularly and collect, harvest vermicompost	Agronômico
2.	The pit is watered regularly. After five to six weeks, the top layer is removed and piled in one corner of the pit. After a few days, the worms will have borrowed down to the bottom of this pile and the compost can be harvested. The compost prepared in the pit should be harvested within 6 months and the pit refurbished as for the first set as discussed above.	Agronômico

4.7 Custos e entradas necessárias pata a manutenção/atividades recorrentes (por ano)

	Especifique a entrada	Unidade	Quantidade	Custos por unidade	Custos totais por entrada	% dos custos arcados pelos usuários da terra
Mão-de-obra	Watering pit	persons/day/unit	5,0	5,0	25,0
Material de construção	Dry cow dung	unit	1,0	5,0	5,0
Material de construção	Water pipe	unit	1,0	10,0	10,0
Custos totais para a manutenção da tecnologia					40,0

4.8 Fatores mais importantes que afetam os custos

Descreva os fatores mais determinantes que afetam os custos:

All costs and amounts are rough estimates by the technicians and authors. This was a demonstration project conducted by ICIMOD.

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografia

5.3 Solos

Caso disponível anexe a descrição completa do solo ou especifique as informações disponíveis, p. ex. tipo de solo, PH/acidez do solo, nitrogênio, capacidade de troca catiônica, salinidade, etc.

Soil fertility is medium

Soil drainage / infiltration is medium

Soil water storage capacity is medium

5.4 Disponibilidade e qualidade de água

Comentários e outras especificações sobre a qualidade e a quantidade da água:

Water quality (untreated): Also for agricultural use (irrigation)

5.5 Biodiversidade

Comentários e outras especificações sobre biodiversidade:

695 species of flora and 230 species of fauna have been documented within the Park's 30 ha area

5.6 Características dos usuários da terra que utilizam a tecnologia

Indique outras características relevantes dos usuários da terra:

Population density: < 10 persons/km2

5.7 Média da área de terra própria ou arrendada por usuários da terra que utilizam a tecnologia

5.8 Propriedade de terra, direitos de uso da terra e de uso da água

• Governement

• ICIMOD

• ICIMOD

5.9 Acesso a serviços e infraestrutura

6.1 Impactos no local mostrados pela tecnologia

Impactos socioeconômicos

Renda e custos

Outros impactos socioeconômicos

Impactos socioculturais

Impactos ecológicos

Outros impactos ecológicos

6.2 Impactos externos mostrados pela tecnologia

6.3 Exposição e sensibilidade da tecnologia às mudanças climáticas graduais e extremos/desastres relacionados ao clima (conforme o ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)

Outras consequências relacionadas ao clima

Outras consequências relacionadas ao clima

	Como a tecnologia lida com isso?
active in warm climate	bem

6.4 Análise do custo-benefício

Como os benefícios se comparam aos custos de implantação (do ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)?

Como os benefícios se comparam aos custos recorrentes/de manutenção(do ponto de vista dos usuários da terra)?

6.5 Adoção da tecnologia

Comentários:

There is a strong trend towards spontaneous adoption of the Technology

Comments on adoption trend: Vermicomposting training was provided to farmers in Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Godavari, and Bishankhunarayan VDCs by ICIMOD staff in collaboration with local NGOs. More than 60% of the farmers who received training adopted vermicomposting on their own farms and they have also started selling worms to other farmers. The technology has been adopted by others who have visited the ICIMOD Knowledge Park at Godavari but most of these are just interested in introducing it on a small scale, such as, to produce vermicompost from kitchen waste for household use in their own gardens. The participants were also taught how to collect local earthworms to use for composting.

Drivers of adaptation of the technology
• A simple technology and easy to implement
• Local earthworms can be used.
• Not expensive; farmers can construct pits or uses wooden boxes or plastic trays.
• Produces high quality compost with a high concentration of nutrients
• Helps to reduce pests in the soil
• Can be scaled up to produce compost commercially

6.7 Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades da tecnologia

Pontos fortes/vantagens/oportunidades na visão do/a compilador/a ou de outra pessoa capacitada
The use of vermicompost reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and reduces dependence on outside sources. How can they be sustained / enhanced? Promote the technology by disseminating it to a large number of farmers on both small and big farms
Vermicomposting does not require keeping livestock. How can they be sustained / enhanced? It is considered to be a low-cost alternative that uses local earthworms and materials to produce compost.
On-farm composting saves the transportation cost needed to deliver compost to the farm.

6.8 Pontos fracos, desvantagens/riscos da tecnologia e formas de superá-los

Pontos fracos/vantagens/riscos na visão do/a compilador/a ou de outra pessoa capacitada	Como eles podem ser superados?
Purchasing earthworms from outside may be expensive for farmers.	Farmers can be encouraged to harvest local earthworms for composting.
Making compost from earthworms is not very popular in rural areas.	Create greater awareness on how earthworms can be used to compost leaf-litter and other kitchen waste.

7.3 Links para informação relevante que está disponível online

Título/ descrição:

Vermicomposting: Journey to forever organic garden (no date)

URL:

http://journeytoforever.org/compost_worm.html