Nature’s food for the soil

Page1       Udin came home one day from his garden feeling very disheartened. His crops of corn and sweet potatoes were looking shabby. He wondered whether it was time to open up a new piece of land.

Page 2      He voiced his thoughts to his wife. She said, ”It has only been three years since you planted that garden.” He agreed and said, ”Just thinking about it makes me tired already. There’s so much work.”

Page 3 She said, ”Why not use fertilizers?” He said that fertilizers cost money which they could not afford. Besides, he had listened to a radio broadcast on farming which said that modern fertilizers were bad for the soil.

Page 4 As they were talking, a voice from the fence called out to them. ”Are you both coming to the workshop on making compost at the school?” It was their headman, Niko. ”Do we have to pay to attend?” asked Udin.

Page 5 Niko said that it was free but there was a book on compost-making and gardening which they might want to buy. It cost the same as a package of cigarettes. Udin laughed. That was fine. He could afford that.

Page 6 Niko said that one of the villages had already tried it out and it was working very well. They had seen good results from their crops. Udin’s wife said, ”Yes, we’ll be there.”

Page 7 On the day of the workshop, the small school was buzzing with voices. A banner was hung across the front of the school announcing the event. The team that was holding the workshop was there talking to Niko.

Page 8 Among them was a foreigner. He was a familiar figure on the island but Udin did not know him. He smiled at them and said that he was glad that they could come.