Sept_13

PROACTIVE
Nair’s organic waste disposal system is cost-effective and user-friendly
cause he found some valuable information he needed for
an academic paper he was writing.”
Between blogging, campaigning and tending to his plantation,
Nair founded the Quality Rubber Marketing Society
(QRMS) in September 2009 to expose unhealthy practices
in rubber trading. As a crusader, he realised there was
strength in numbers and enlisted the support of experts
including economists and those associated with the Rubber
Board.
G Rajasekharan, a retired Kerala PWD chief engineer,
owns a rubber plantation adjacent to Nair’s. A member of
the QRMS, he says Nair’s vast and in-depth knowledge of
the trade has helped many like him become aware of issues
they never knew existed.
Nair has also extended his campaigning to the civic arena.
“Thiruvananthapuram, once an eco-friendly city, has become
a dumping yard. People, not just in the city but even in
the villages, are losing their civic sense,” remarks Nair, who
is popularising a waste disposal system based on the principle
of composing organic waste. Nair’s model is an improvised
version of a system developed by Dr Francis Xavier
of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University
(KVASU). “On seeing the model developed under my guidance,
Mr Nair thought of making a new model, which is
cheaper,” affirms Dr Xavier. “He has successfully developed
a unit made of cement blocks and many farmers and villagers
in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad are making use of
his model.”
While the KVASU model makes use of microbes in cow
dung, Nair’s uses the slurry from the biogas plant that provides
microbes. The sewage-connected biogas plant helps
to get manure balanced with nitrogen, phosphorous and
potassium content while the slurry is high in nitrogen. The
temperature inside the pile rises once waste is piled up.
While the manure is ready in a few weeks, there is no issue
of slurry or seepage. “This model is more user-friendly,
which is why it’s gaining in popularity among the rural
population,” adds Nair.
Even though Nair has achieved a lot, he says his mission
is far from accomplished. “My blog and the RTI Act may
help us gather information and expose corruption but that
does not automatically bring about change. My next step
is to expand the QRMS, so our voice will be louder and we
can challenge the authorities with sufficient ammunition.”
Spoken like a true soldier! h
36 harmony celebrate age september 2013