How to be Resourceful: Using Local, Organic Material

February 15, 2024

Rice Hulls

A truck full of rice hulls was scheduled to arrive today, so the students were ready with their faces and eyes covered with t-shirts to prevent the dust from getting in their eyes. They also had a speaker ready to blast music while they worked. This made the task go by much quicker and made it much more enjoyable. As some students shoveled the materials out of the truck, others began to load it into bags and tie them up. Then Rosi, Ruby (another volunteer), and I were ready to load the bags into wheelbarrows and take them to the sheep pen to store them.        

Unloading, bagging, and storing the rice hulls

Rice hulls are the outermost layer of a rice grain and are a by-product of rice processing. They play a big role in CAO’s organic production. They are the bedding for the sheep pens. Sheep are susceptible to diseases in their hooves, which happens when their hooves get too wet, so the rice hulls provide a soft, dry bed for the sheep to prevent infections. Eventually the rice hulls get wet and dirty from the sheep urine and poop and they are then used as a key ingredient for the Bokashi fertilizer and the compost.

To keep costs low, Glen looks for materials that he can acquire locally at a wholesale price. Therefore, they receive the rice hulls in bulk and store them. To avoid high-cost inputs, Glen stays away from organic stores and products marketed as organic. These are usually wayy marked up in price!

Saw Dust

Another important, locally available, organic material is saw dust! Glen drove us to the sawmill where we bagged up and loaded into the truck a large supply of sawdust. Sawdust serves different purposes on the farm. For example, it is used every day for the composting toilet. Because it is used so often, CAO buys large quantities to get low-cost material. Glen gets the students to think about the economics of farming and how to get low-cost or free material. 

Bagging up saw dust with Ismael