Weekend Hippie: Sustainable and Simple Living

My First Worm Composting Bin

Santa Barbara, CA

It’s a garbage disposal that gives back—literally. Worm composting—technically vermicomposting—is a system for turning your food waste into rich, usable soil for use in your garden... all with the help of worms.

You simply bury your excess kitchen waste in the worm bin, and the worms get to work on turning it into soil. Technically it is the worm casts—what worms excrete—that you want....worm casts are full of rich micro-nutrients for your plants.

Make a Difference:
Worm composting lets you reduce the waste you put on the street for collection every week. Worm composting is the only way to recycle at your home. The worms turn your food waste into your plant food you use in your garden. One thousand worms eat about a pound of garbage every four days. How many pounds of garbage can you save from going in the landfill each year by composting? Check out more Worm Composting Facts!

KIVA: A Little Goes a Long Way

 
Kiva is one of my favorite ways to give. Kiva makes it easy whether you have $25 or $25,000. I have $25, so it works for me. Kiva's concept? They makes it easy for you to loan money to fledgling entrepreneurs in developing countries. You can use your resources to help lift someone out of poverty. Plus they repay each loan, so you can reinvest the money in another aspiring entrepreneur.

By marrying micro-finance and the Internet, Kiva has created a global community of people connected through lending. Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva will have facilitated loans totaling $100 million by 2010.

Here’s how it works:

You give money—as little as $25—to an entrepreneur of your choice. You pick the entrepreneur from their website. Scroll through the list and find someone you connect with, and sponsor that person.

The loan is combined with other loans made to the entrepreneur....allowing them to fulfill their dream, their goal.

Once the entrepreneur is successful, the loan is paid back, and you can then re-loan the amount to another Kiva entrepreneur or withdraw it from your Kiva account..

How can you be part of KIVA:

Visit KIVA
Find an entrepreneur to help.
Register.

Give.