Conclusion - Bokashi Composting - page 88

Conclusion

BOKASHIISN'TAPANACEAORASILVERBULLET .Itisjustanothertooltohaveinourtoolboxso

wecancombatclimatechangeandthedestructionofourenvironment.Hopefullyyoucantake
someorallofthetechniquesandstrategiesdiscussed in this topic tohelpreduceyourenvironment-
al footprint. The techniques are time tested, fairly straightforward, inexpensive, and effective. The
bokashi composting process is an effective outlet for recycling organic waste back into the soil and
shouldbemorewidelyrecognizedassuch,andseenasaviablecompostingoption.Ithasalotofbe-
nefits over traditional aerobic composting, which gives it a niche.
Bokashi composting is contained and can be done on a small scale, which appeals to a lot of
people in small house or apartment situations. It also takes away a lot of the negatives that cur-
rently keep many people from composting anything, and gives them another way to process their
own kitchen waste into a beneficial soil amendment. If even a small percentage of us kept our kit-
chen waste on our own property or a property nearby, the impact would be huge. Not only would
it keep organic waste out of the landfill but it would dramatically improve local soil conditions —
and that is the “gateway drug.” If you compost, you are going to want to put your compost to work
growing stuff (I don't know very many people who compost but don't grow anything). So if you
startcomposting,youwillstartgrowingthings.Peoplecanusetheirimprovedsoilstogrowedibles,
ornamentals, medicinals, or other beneficial plants. This would have a whole variety of beneficial
trickle-down effects. Most importantly we would be turning a waste stream into a resource.
I hope that I have also shown that bokashi isn't a hocus-pocus form of composting. There is
a legitimate biological process taking place here. Even if you dismiss the theory that adding the
microbes in EM to the soil has positive effects, one thing is clear — they break down organic mat-
ter quickly and effectively. We are simply using very powerful and effective microbes to do what
they evolved to do, in a way that is mutually beneficial. Support for bokashi composting and EM
is growing, and there is some grassroots research being conducted out there, mostly by EM manu-
facturers, bokashi manufacturers, and homebrewers. Numerous cases studies have been conducted
around the world using EM and EM bokashi; a small sampling is shown in Appendix B . That said,
theresearchbaseisfartoosmall,andmuchmoreresearchneedstobedone,scientificorotherwise.
The ingredients in the bokashi process aren't genetically modified, synthetic, or laboratory-
based chemicals, so that will most likely keep big corporate and government money out of the re-
search space. So like other processes in the alternative science space, the research will come from
us,thegeneral public. Itwill beoureffortsandusethat ultimately advance theprocess andapplica-
tion of EM, bokashi, and other natural farming techniques. These techniques are very powerful, not
only in their applications but also in their origins. They are simple and homemade, which means
that they can be used almost anywhere in this world. This gives power to people and takes it away
from the large corporations that control almost all of the chemical alternatives.