Photo: NESFAS/ Damanki War
Indigenous Terra Madre 2015 brought together an estimated 60,000 guests from Shillong, the 41 host and other villages, and many more from around India and abroad at the Mei Ramew Food Festival at Mawphlang on the 7th of November 2015. As expected a food festival of this scale generated tons of garbage both bio degradable and otherwise. In preparation for this a Waste Management team was created and coordinated by NESFAS, Indian Youth Climate Network and Bethany Society. They had planned and oriented youth and members from the community of Mawphlang village prior to the event.
The planning included not just disposal of the waste but also its segregation before doing so in the course of 1 week following the event. It was taken into account that a gathering of such a scale would generate an enormous amount of waste. With this in mind, all the 40 food stalls were provided by the organizers with biodegradable glasses, plates, bowls, spoons and forks. Also, dustbins were provided at strategic points, each labelled for disposal of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.
Post the vent a larger pit was dug for degradable garbage which is being treated with Garbage to Gold (G2G) granules to hasten decomposition by the Bokashi Fermenting System method which has been carried out under the guidance of the Bethany Society. The compost thus generated will be handed over to the community for their use. This is a part of the practical demonstrations that NESFAS is undertaking to teach the people to prepare compost from the degradable waste they generate even in their individual households. On the 10th of November the non-degradable waste was carried away by the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) truck for proper disposal. As the structures are getting dismantled a final sweep of the place is being done. Until then the venue remains open to the public, which constantly brings in more garbage to the venue. With the absence of a dumping place, waste collected from this is being thrown into the temporary pit dug out to keep garbage from flying around. This garbage will however be collected and transported to a proper dumping place. Following the final clearing the venue will be handed over to the Lyngdoh of Mawphlang by the organizers.
