A Problem-Solving Cooperative

A small wooden hut located at the center of Oegenetan village is filled with a large pile of organic fertilizer. Two large barrels of liquid fertilizer sat idly on one corner. Both are filled with 10 liters of organic liquid fluid for crops. A musty odor filled the air of this small fertilizer factory. While the air smelled of rotten mulch, the men who worked there did not seem to mind.

Alfonsius Konan, 34, is part of a team given the task of producing organic fertilizer for the local Nonggup cooperative business unit. They spend every Saturday cutting grass, pulverizing banana stem and corm, and mixing them with the livestock manure that they get from the local farmers. For every such activity, they can produce at least 10 liters of liquid fertilizer and around 50 kilograms of compost.

January 13, 2015