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Bokashi technique – check!

Posted on by Joanne

I set up my new Bokashi Composter last night. It’s a technique I haven’t tried yet and so far it’s pretty easy. Since I don’t have to separate animal from vegetable, I’m pretty much sold already. I made a separate page for it so that the set-up ‘tutorial’ doesn’t get lost in the flurry of posts I will be making. Haha, no sarcasm there! I might just surprise myself though. :)

Check it out here!

I will try to update my success or failure on a regular basis.

Next up, some Soap Crafting and raking the yard for those necessary browns for the backyard Composter.

Master Composter: To Infinity and Beyond!

Posted on by Joanne

Today, April 30, 2011, I graduated from the Master Composter/Recycler Volunteer Program that my City offers each year as a tool to increase citizen participation in effective waste management. It gives volunteers the knowledge and resources they need to be ambassadors for the city, and to share their passion for gardening, Composting, Recycling, Reusing, and much much more. I thought I knew a lot going in, and I learned a lot more than I expected. We each created an Outreach Plan for how we would bring our knowledge back to our communities, and presenting these plans to each other was very inspiring. At some point I will post my overly ambitious, somewhat nebulous Outreach Plan.

By using the tools this MCRP course has given me, I hope to bring hope to those that think all is lost, and to bring change to those that have never asked “Where *does* my garbage go after it leaves the end of my driveway?”  I have been an environmentalist since the early 1990s, and composted in the backyard with my parents for our family garden. I embraced the ‘save the world’ and ‘treehugger’ movements, and recycled and reused whenever possible. I tried my first vermicompost bin in 2003, and helped initiate a lunch waste vermicompost bin in the program office of my college. The one thing I’ve decided to do tomorrow is to make my own Bokashi bucket. It is a form of Composting I haven’t tried yet, and I might as well get started while my enthusiasm/drive is still high!

Pure & Innocent

Posted on by Joanne

Well my goats milk batch has hardened and cured well. I’ve decided to name it ‘Pure & Innocent’, as a true sacrificial goat should be. That, and it is free of any added fragrance or preservative.

The other batch is technically cured, but the soap is just a little soft to the touch still. So I’ll let it sit for a bit longer. But I named it too: Goddess of Life, and Clean House.

I made labels for all the soap molds I have, and am excited to make more soap! I’ve got ideas running around in my head for other crafts too….just gotta do it!

Look for a new post in the next few days for pictures of the soaps!

Solstice Soaping!

Posted on by Joanne

I have at this point made 2 batches of Solstice soap. They will now have to cure for a month. I created sacred space, and invoked the Sun, and all the qualities it entails. I created a magical cauldron of cleanliness, and ritual preparation. My first batch is a basic castille recipe, and the second batch is goat’s milk. That’s right – can’t be having a Sacrificial Goat enterprise without the sacrificial goat!

The castille batch has been blended with essential oils of frankincense, ylang-ylang, and orange. Along with the magical qualities in those oils, 4 different molds were used. Goddess of Life, Broom Pentagram, Celtic Knot, and Flying beasts.

The goat’s milk soap has been put into a goat’s mold, a fancy swirl, and 2 fishes to use up the whole batch. The soap was left unscented, so as to be a pure sacrifice! :)

All soaps will be cured upon an altar, and charged with the energies of the Solstice Sun, as well as the symbolism of each mold. Check back in 4 weeks for pictures and ordering!