WASTE MANAGEMENT- MEAT WASTE

 Did you know that the Sands at Nomad and and the Nomad Beach Bar use the 'waste' meat offcuts from the kitchen butchery which most hotels and restaurants throw away? 

Meat waste when thrown out will attract Parasites, Bacteria and Pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment. Uncooked meat waste is particularly bad and we all know what rotting meat smells like.

Meat 'waste' offcuts are collected after the butchery has it's filleting and cleaning sessions. Any bones   and offcuts able and safe to be used to make stews for the staff are used for this. 

The remainder (seafoods, red and white meats) are boiled, ground into mince, packed into biodegradable takeaway boxes (which have been returned by Nomad Beach Bar Customers for re-use), and then frozen in an old re-used freezer.

The outcome is good quality, protein rich pet food.. made from what many would throw away. 

If you are a Diani resident and you own a Dog or are owned by a Cat please feel free to contact us via a message if you would like to try out our pet food. We have been feeding our own pets since October 2020.

NB- The more you feed your Cat the less wildlife will be exterminated from your compound or Garden. ;0)

The Sands, Thinking Green

WASTE MANAGEMENT- Separation, Use and Record Keeping

As many of you know we at The Sands at Nomad have quite intensive waste management systems and procedures in place. Badly managed waste is one of the BIGGEST THREATS OF THESE TIMES to both Society (People) and our Environment. In short-  any commercial property that is not managing their waste is directly responsible for future ill-health of the community and the environment.

Twice a day waste is collected from various locations around the hotel and the Nomad Beach Bar, separation starts at the source.. the first bins used are colour coded. 

Further checks and separation happens into Paper, Cardboard, Plastics (HDPE, LDPE, PET), Metals, Glass, Fruit and Vegetables, Meats, Carbohydrates and Starches, Oils, Ash and any electrical appliances, Lightbulbs and Batteries.

A more recent addition to our waste regime is the further separation of the Starches and Carbohydrates (Breads, rice, potatoes, chapatis) from the Proteins. (Meats, Eggs). The finished meal scraps; containing the Carbohydrates and Fruits and Vegetables from the waiter station at the Nomad Beach Bar now go to the chickens on the Nomad Farm to ensure their diet is as natural and free range as possible. Yesterday's chicken breakfast (photo above) was 7 kilograms of 'food waste'. Happy Chickens!

The Sands at Nomad's Green Team doing separation and checks.. note the wall made from re-purposed glass bottles in the background.

REPURPOSING GLASS BOTTLES

 If any of you have had a chance to pass by the Nomad Beach Bar for a drink, meal recently you will notice that,  not only is there now a 'fine-dining' experience with farm-fresh Organic produce available.. but there is also some 'beatification' going on in the Beach Bar parking area.

As one can imagine, a popular beach bar in Diani like Nomad generates alot of glass bottles as what many would call 'waste'. However, like many items, The Sand's and Nomad look at these glass bottles as Re-purposable materials. It is for this reason that we have a VERY small amount of glass 'Waste' generated from the premises. Instead we stockpile and use them.

In March 2021 Glass and Metal waste made up 2.6% of the total waste weight in March 2021. If we had thrown away ALL the glass bottles we have kept and used.. the majority of the chart above would be Glass and the total weight of our monthly 'waste' generated would triple.. food for thought.

In the past six months the Sands at Nomad and the Nomad Beach Bar have used stockpiled 'waste' glass bottles to build the 'Green Room' near the Marine Education Centre, and the glass bottle walls around the workshops and the Beach Bar parking area. 

In total this is approximately 22,700 bottles.. at an average weight of 500 grams a bottle it means we have saved around 11 Tons of glass from being waste.. and we have repurposed it into beautiful AND functional projects. 

The Sands, Thinking Green.

ORGANIC FARMING- MARCH UPDATE (Prep for the Rains)

With the intense heat of the past month now getting more humid the promise of the rains still seems like a far away story. The wind is blowing from the North-East (Kazikazi) and starting to swing to come from the East (Matilai). We had a day of thunder, lightning and a small shower but nothing of any real value yet.

Above left- Repurposed fridges, chillers and jacuzzis pumping out produce.                                            Above Right- This double drinks fridge is producing Watercress and Rucola, behind an old washing machine being prepped for farm use.

However, with the hopes that existence will bless us with rain soon we have been in full preparation mode on the Nomad Farm. 

Compost has been collected from the piles we have been turning and watering for months, more repurposed 'waste' items have been positioned, filled and planted with various seeds for the next growing season. The chicken houses have all had their sawdust replaced to try to stop Army ants from invading which they will surely try. Wooden support poles have been painted with old engine oil from the Sand's at Nomad's generator to deter the Termites which go into overdrive during the rainy season. Wood ash from the Nomad Restaurant pizza oven has been sprinkled around the chick house with our newly arrived layer chicks. 

As more 'waste' items arrive from the Hotel and Restaurant we are looking for ways to re-use or re-purpose them in this next season. Organic material like the 'plaining' waste (Kiswahili- Uchafu ya kulanda) from the workshop has come to be used as mulch. Metal school trunks have been planted with Rucola and Dill.

Organic waste                                                 Metal waste items

Plastic waste items like this old boat fuel tank can be used for farm production for MANY years to come. The Colour of the tank (RED) also acts to attract pollinating insects to the farm.

Above Left- This old water tank has been resealed and positioned so that we can use it to store excess rainwater once our 20,000 litres of storage is full, it is also positioned so that it might be converted into a fish tank in the future.. for Aquaponics.                                                                                                  Above Right- Old broken wheel barrows will be converted into raised planters also. Why not?

Until next time, fingers crossed for the rain!!

ORGANIC FARMING - MAKE YOUR OWN WORMARY FOR VERMI-FERTILIZER

CREATE A WORMARY 

As you read this article the text is an explanation of WHY and the photos with captions is HOW.   Keep it Green

People who try farming often complain that after a year or two their crops are not being as productive as they were before. In many cases this will be due to the soil having been leached of nutrients which the crops need to grow and produce.

Above Left- 2 repurposed buckets, 1 tap, 1 back nut, repurposed window net, wrench and thread tape

Above Right- (Bottom bucket) Mark the location for the drain tap.

Due to the loss of old farming knowledge too many people get themselves sucked in to the trap of using chemical fertilisers to boost their crops and their earnings from these. Sadly, over time these chemical-using farmers will find they have to use more and more chemical fertiliser each time, which becomes more expensive. 

Above Left- (Bottom Bucket) Cut the hole leaving space for the back nut to turn in the inside.

Above Right- Attach the tap with back nut, thread tape and/or glue.

Basically what these guys have done is to kill ALL the naturally found organisms who break down natural organic matter into natural fertiliser.. so the soil is now dead and full of chemicals.

So what's the solution? 

Above-  Measure and cut the size plastic net needed for the inside of the Top bucket.

Below- Drill holes in the base and then insert the net. 

Well, the use of Chemicals to unsure fast growing profitable crops is very much the humans 'Push button Philosophy', we want it and we want it now.. without thinking of the long term environmental repercussions. If we were to slow it down and think on a smaller scale of houses, villages or towns feeding themselves 'sustainably'... they would most probably be using worms to break down waste AND create the best fertilisers in the world.

And it's ready to add soil, compost, worms and your fruit and veg waste.

Don't Panic it's Organic, unlike the cancer causing fertilisers used on the majority of vegetables these days. If you are still not convinced search the internet and you will find lots of evidence like this below:

'Yes, using worm castings really is one of the biggest and best secrets of all time when it comes to growing amazingly healthy and productive plants. Period!'

Worm castings are quite simply the most powerful, incredible, plant-energizing fertilizer & soil conditioner around. Yes, even more than compost – which, of course, is pretty special in its own right'. (old world garden farms)

PhotoCredit- Worm Photo from Victoriaadvocate.com

AQUAPONICS (GROWING FISH AND VEGETABLES) USING REPURPOSED 'WASTE'

Aquaponics is growing crops without soil by using nutrient rich water which is created by Fish. 

The Fish put nutrients in the water due to their waste. This water is then pumped through 'beds' of pebbles, Pumice or in our case Lava rock. The crops are planted in these beds where they act as a natural water filter removing the nutrients (fish waste) from the water so enabling them to grow. The cleaned, oxygenated water is then pumped back to the fish so reducing water wastage.

The initial stage of the trial- Rucola is growing.

In 2020 as Corona was kicking off we decided to have-a-go setting up a basic Hydroponics system using repurposed waste items from the Sands at Nomad Hotel and The Nomad Beach Bar.

We used Three broken Jacuzzis, some sections of old rubber 'dam liner' offcuts, some sections of old water pipe, a fibre glass basin from a diving boat. The Jacuzzis were tiered so that gravity fed the water from one to the other circulating the water. The top two Jacuzzis were stocked with Tilapia fish, the lower one was planted with Rucola (Rocket) and Watercress while cherry Tomatoes were planted in the Lava filled slipway that flowed into the fibreglass boat basin. From here the water is pumped back up to the top Jacuzzi twice a day.

Lava rock used as a substrate

As this was very much a trial we were expecting to have a couple of failures as we tried things out (like the Lava rock), amazingly we had early successes. The Rucola we tried out in the Jacuzzi took very well, as did the Watercress. The Tomatoes did less well due to too much moisture we believe. 

Our first harvest from the repurposed Aquaponics system

So what next? We want to see if there might be a local market (people who want Tilapia) around Diani and Ukunda. 

Then we 'upscale'- MORE fish in bigger tanks growing MORE vegetables. We hope that we can share the knowledge and experience that we have with the local communities and organisations so that others can start farming fish (and vegetables) so earning from more sustainable farming methods. 

The Long term plan? Have enough Farmed fish happening in Kwale County so that it can take some reliance off the ocean so allowing fish stocks and the currently overfished nurseries to recover.. leading to more fish and more a brighter future for both people and the environment. (Sustainability)

Our first 'FRESH' Sale to a food Kiosk nearby, Ksh 100 per fish!

RECYCLING CANDLE WAX

For anyone why has been looking for a way to reuse 'waste' candle wax easily here is an idea for you. 

We use it to make beach candles, You will need old wax and old poster rolls for recycling. (any size works)

In the past we used more candles at The Sands at Nomad and The Nomad Beach Bar, and as a result we found we had a lot of candle remains which could not be used. (Photo below) 

In most hotels or restaurants wax like this would be thrown out with the trash.. where it would end up polluting three out of the four Elements that are vital for life on this planet. The Air (wax fumes are Carcinogenic), the Earth and the Water in the ground.

Considering that wax is flammable it would also be a waste to throw out a perfectly usable fuel source. 

So..

Take the candle left overs, heat them in a large safely secured saucepan in a well ventilated outdoor area. In case of a wax spill it helps to be in a sandy area. 

The wax will begin to melt. Make sure your fire is not too big as the flames over the rim of the saucepan could ignite the wax gas. If this happens cover with a lid or a wet cloth to put it out.

Once the wax has melted all the bits of wick string and any sand or dirt will have sunk to the bottom of the  saucepan.

Take the cardboard poster roll/tube (cardboard is important as this becomes the wick for your recycled candle), make sure one end is plugged tightly and rested on the ground. It will need to be standing up as shown in the photo below. 

Using a jug or a repurposed container gently scoop and pour a small amount of wax into the tube. Stop for a while as the first wax cools and solidifies a little to help plug the base of the roll/tube. 

Do not try to move the tube when it is full of hot wax as it may pour or explode out of the base of the tube. The tube needs to be fixed standing in place for the next few hours.

Fill the tube with as much melted wax as you can then let it cool so that the wax solidifies. Once this is done you now have an outdoor candle. 

To light the recycled candle it hold one end over an open fire, do this in a well ventilated area with a sandy floor. A little of the wax may melt out into the fire which is ok. 

Once the cardboard tube begins to catch fire at the end stand the candle up and bury the other end in the ground or in our case, on the beach for the Nomad Full Moon Beach dinner.

Another option for recycling candle wax is to melt it and use it to fill repurposed glasses or jars like the one above to make the more known type of candle. Note you will need to make a 'wick' for these candles but any string will work. Use cocktail sticks or sticks to keep the Wick straight as the wax hardens around it. The wick needs to be in the centre of glass jars and glasses otherwise the heat will crack the glass.

The more sustainable path would be to find alternatives to the toxic paraffin wax candles to reduce or remove it completely from the system.