Earthaven Ecovillage is an educational center and community living project located in a mountain setting near Asheville, North Carolina. Their basic belief is to take care of the earth through sustainable efforts to the make the world a more healthy, knowledge-driven and livable environment. These are my own words to describe a place where our son spent part of a summer learning more about the structure of sustainable living.
Our son was involved in using the integral ideas of sustainable living and a program called Permaculture and had taken a variety of courses for certification. A system of agricultural principles as well as landscaping design principles utilizing the features of natural ecosystems, Permaculture and sustainable living were at the core of our son’s plan for his life. Earthaven was a natural educational extension for him and we are so thankful that he had the opportunity to take part in such a program.
The vision statement of Earthaven Ecovillage states…”We are dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning, living and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture.”
Sustaining the earth for our children, grandchildren and beyond…a vision that we all might want and need to consider. Earthaven has an interesting newsletter that you subscribe to at their website (earthaven.org). Their educational facility is named SOIL, School of Integrated Living. SOIL offers classes and workshops throughout the year. Think about another statement written by Earthaven…
“We envision a world where self-reliant, interdependent and ecologically aware people engage consciously in their land and global communities. These committed individuals will make informed and responsible choices for their basic needs, understand their impact on the world, forge real connections with themselves and others and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable world for all.”
We don’t all have the time to attend classes at a place like Earthaven or even have the desire to take classes. So…what can we do on our own to help make the world a better and more healthy place? In thinking what we can do to sustain the earth in our own individual lives, we might first consider the task of…
~~~Composting~~~
Composting is a first step in making a contribution to sustaining our planet. According to the television show, “This Old House”, the following are the steps to beginning to compost organic materials at home…
1. Sort organics to throw in the compost bin such as fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds and egg shells for carbon and dry leaves, newspaper, or cardboard for nitrogen. Do not use meat, dairy, oils or bones in compost.
2. To build your own composter, use a 32-gallon trash barrel and drill several 5/16-inch holes on the cover of the garbage can and up and down the sides for aeration. Use a cordless drill.
3. Add organic matter to the compost bin. It should be a 3:1 ration of carbon items to nitrogen.
4. Finished compost should be ready for use in several months.
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A video from “This Old House” that further explains composting…
kindergartenknowledge.com 
I always have an old ice cream pail in my kitchen for the potato peels etc. When it gets enough in it my husband doesn’t compost it but takes it out to the field and tosses it on. There is not much that goes to waste around here. Any leftovers we don’t eat go to the chickens and eventually end up on the garden. Works well for us!
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Mike’s mom and dad would also throw leftovers and potato peels etc out in the pasture behind the house at the farm.
Actually, they wouldn’t go way out in that field, but usually just throw it over the fence. At that time, there was no trash pick-up in the area…so they had to take things to the dump. I don’t like to throw items over the fence so close to the house because I think that it is an invitation for “critters”! We already hear coyotes howling fairly close and there are also very large wild hogs! I don’t mind if the leftover food is taken over to another field! We have had a compost at regular house…and it worked nicely!
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