"Compost and Worms", by Ella Kilpatrick-Kotner (Brown University): Sustainability and the Environment Internship

The goal of this internship is to come up with and refine creative solutions to the complicated and growing problem of organic waste in Monteverde. It has implications to affect the five-year plan of COMIRES and CEGIREH, as well as Monteverde’s overall goal of carbon neutrality. I worked in collaboration with Justin Welch on his project, Finca Filosofia to expand the capacity of his aerated static compost system, analyze and organize the data his previous interns collected, create a streamlined data collection and organization process, and determine the potential for incorporating vermicomposting into the process. Over the past weeks I have doubled the capacity of the composting operation at Justin’s farm, as well as assembled air delivery tubes to make all ten of these bins capable of aerated static composting. I have also created a data collection sheet that can be used to collect important information about each compost batch daily, as well as record lab results. I am currently in the process of determining what is needed (population, space, time, etc.) to incorporate vermicomposting into the compost flow and have both vermicompost and regular compost as marketable products.

Ever since I was a young child I have loved compost. My sister and I used to ski down the compost piles on our farm using pieces of wood. This internship provides me with the opportunity to love compost in both a hands on and scientific way. After participating in this internship I have a much fuller understanding of the process and potential for aerated composting, knowledge that will be very useful for my future career in local food systems. It is important to understand all aspects of the food system in order to positively contribute to it, and this internship has helped me progress toward this full understanding.

This internship also exercised my resourcefulness and adaptability. There were many points when I had to change my course of action or come up with a plan as I worked in order to fit the unique location and circumstances. The project also helped me to develop my interpersonal and teamwork skills, as we had to maneuver fitting together separate but interrelated projects.

On a more tangible level, I learned important construction skills while building the aerated static system. I also gained much knowledge about the ideal compost mixture, the necessary conditions for the mixture, and the process of decomposition.

I think that my greatest contributions to this project were the expansion of the aerated static compost system and the data collection sheet, both of which will be used daily. I always try to be aware of my positionality in a community that I am only a temporary member of, and I know that I should not be the driving force of change in such communities. My contributions should be the product of putting my community partner’s needs first and respecting their time and knowledge. I think the physical labor and material results that I provided during this internship were appropriate for my positionality, and I am proud my contributions.