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   I have taught a few soil health classes locally, and the feedback from attendees has been generally positive. One catch in my presentation is when I mention composting humanure at our home in a constructed compost bin, utilizing 5-gallon buckets as the collection receptacle filled with wood shavings for carbon. This

seems to evoke a feeling of disgust and a general sense of unease in my audience. I have a hard time figuring out why you would want to defecate and urinate in your drinking water, and then spend a large amount of money trying to clean it up. Humans are two-legged animals, and our manure is no different from that of any other creature on Earth.

   When composting is done properly, it creates HEAT! Heat kills many things, including the bugs that can cause us to be ill. My goal is to create a circular system (much like natural systems) that grows plants, then humans eat plants, we

relieve ourselves (pee, poop, and paper), then we compost this valuable resource back into needed topsoil, and then it begins again with plants. I have fooled a few unknowing individuals into touching and smelling this finished product, not knowing what the

beginning material was. If I had not said anything, they would have gone on with life, not knowing what had just happened. 

   Here’s the thing: energy is neither created nor destroyed; it only changes form. This is the law of conservation of energy (I took this from Wikipedia). With this principle, I can take smelly poo-poo and transform it into usable, pleasant-smelling topsoil that I can grow healthy food, hold water in the soil system, and provide a home and food for soil life. This is a circular system that can go on

forever.

   The way we interact with the natural world will dictate what future generations will have to deal with. Composting is the future of nutrient cycling. It is much like changing diapers; once

you are accustomed to it, it is just another task to accomplish. If

you are interested in more information about this wonderful

process or commercial units that perform the same task, please call Jim Etzel at (218) 252-3258 or www.earthisourhome.net.

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