Expanding into new territory

The "Smiley Garbage" project just gained 50 new members in Tadok community!

Working between SFS' small-scale farmers in Tamor Subdistrict, and urban communities in Surin city, "Smiley Garbage" takes fermented food scraps from the city, transforms them into a liquid organic fertilizer and sells them at a low cost to farmers for use in their fields. Last week, for an "opening ceremony" of sorts, SFS staff were invited to give a short presentation in Tadok community about the background of the project and discuss the details of the weekly food scrap pick up.

The local community leaders welcomed the staff warmly and made a signficant contribution to SFS after the presentation. Sumali, the local Public Health officer and president of Tadok community group, has worked closely with SFS in recent months to generate interest in the community and begin to plan out logistics for the project. With the city's waste stream increasingly overloaded, participating in a project like this is an appealing option for Surin's urban communities. Many project members are proud that their food scraps are going to good use with local organic farmers.

The community also makes unbelievably realistic fake flower arrangements

After a group photo, buckets and molasses (for breaking down food scraps) were given out to new members. SFS has started picking up food scraps this week.