Making some in-house organic Manure: Paddy Waste

We are planning on making some manure in-house which should decrease some of our manure expenses. We went on a 'rice straw collection' spree last month and were able to gather 10 tipper loads (approx 10 tons) for a total of Rs 6000.
We have dug 8-10 pits which are going to be used as compost pits during dry season and as rain water harvesting structures in monsoon season. The pits are spread out across the land close to cultivation areas.
Conscious effort was made not to dig out fertile land to make these pits; there were several 'low lying areas' formed after removing bigger boulders. Using a JCB, these areas were made deeper.

Economics:
8L of Activated EM solution is required per ton of waste.
Expected Waste conversion to manure = 25%

1L of EM = 20L of activated EM = Rs 280
Cost of Input material (EM solution and Jaggery) = (8L/20L)*280/250  ~ Rs 0.45/Kg
Cost of Paddy Waste = Rs 600/250Kg = Rs 2.4
Total Cost = Rs 2.85/Kg
Compare this to various composts that are sold in the market for Rs 5-6. (Not to forget that a lot of places are selling sand instead of pure compost in order to increase their margins.

One of the several low lying pits that was converted into a compost pit/Water harvesting unit This is one of the smaller pits. The biggest one is close to 15 m x10 m x 2m 

Everything is up for grabs!

And our workers attack the grub!!

Loading the final one..

A couple of loads of rice straw in one of the bigger pits. As of now, we have filled up 10 pits with straw. We will add EM (Effective Microorganism) for rapid decomposition of straw.












EM is nothing but a bacterial solution. 1 Kg of Jaggery and 19 L of water needed to be added to this solution and kept in a 20L can for 10 days. You need to open twice daily in the morning and evening (for 5 mins) to get 'Activated' EM that can be used directly with the paddy waste.

The last step would be to cover the pits with soil for a couple of months. Come summer, we should have some good quality, in-house manure!
More updates then..

Finally..light at the end of one long dark tunnel!

We had applied for 2 horticulture connections [tarrif IIIA (1)] in late December. After waiting for a couple of months, we finally got to see the EB poles erected on our land.
Along with the EB application, we had to submit the following for a new connection -

1. Patta copy
2. Adangal copy
3. Certificate from Horticulture department stating we are going to undertake horticulture activities.

Total expenses incurred for 2 connections was Rs 88,000 which includes labor, material, and execution of the line (approx 200 m from the existing pole).

There were a total of 5 poles erected.

Lines are finally up!

First leg completed.

EB technician giving the final touches..

Second leg complete..


















Once we had the lines and poles erected, EB department would not give us a meter unless we constructed a pumphouse to protect the meter.
So we spent another week, constructing a pump house (approx 8 ft x 7ft). We plan on housing a labor or two in the pump room for additional security.

Sher Singh, our resident electrician giving the final touches - connecting the meter to the grid.

Three phase power looks good to me!

















So, the next step is to test the water yield and conduct the 'endurance' test since our irrigation schedule is going to be 10-12 hours daily. After having established the depth at which we will erect the pump at, we will buy two 7.5hp pumps. Then we should be all set to irrigate!

More info on the motor in another posting.