An Emirati woman prepares compost at home and receives "food and plastic waste" as gifts
Fatima Al-Marzouki: My dream was to establish a "green family" ... and it succeeded
Al-Marzouki while stirring the soil with food waste.
From the source
Al-Marzouki has worked for the past 10 years to collect and store food and food waste in order to prepare manure.
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The Zayed International Foundation for the Environment of the Emirates crowned Fatima Abdullah Ali Al Marzouki the champion of the second edition of the "Urban Agriculture Champions" competition, which aims to honor the best home agricultural experiences. Al-Marzouki, a housewife of a unique style, has made an effort to make environmental protection a way of life for her and her family. For more than 10 years, from her hobbies in agriculture, beekeeping, and preparing manure at home, to her favorite gifts, represented by "food waste, plastic, paper and cardboard", Al-Marzouki has succeeded in producing a variety of vegetables and fruits, which enabled her to enhance her family's food security. In fact, it cooperated with local environmental associations to recycle their household waste. She also excelled in transforming her family from a consumer family into an environmentally friendly "green family", in addition to her creativity in decorating her home garden by creating an artistic mural made of 20,000 plastic sheets, which took two years to collect. Full.
10 years
Al-Marzouki told Emirates Today: “I have always been interested in the environment and reading about how to protect the planet from pollution and toxic gases, but I was hesitant about the idea of launching an environmental initiative such as agriculture, until my daughter was nominated to participate in a competition for educational excellence, among which is that She had an environmental initiative, and that was about 10 years ago, as I felt it was time to support my daughter and encourage myself to start fulfilling the dream of cultivating in the outdoor courtyard, to produce organic vegetables and fruits that enhance the health of my family members, and ensure that we achieve the greatest sufficiency Self ».
Al-Marzouki added: “10 years ago we stopped throwing food waste, plastic, glass, paper bags and cardboard boxes, as specific boxes were allocated for each type of waste in the home, and with the passage of time, the multiplicity of experiences, the love of knowledge and the development of my agricultural equipment and tools, my agricultural experience became in constant development.”
Al-Marzouki explains how she became adept at preparing compost. She says, “I mix the soil with a certain amount of powdered eggshells, consumed coffee, and the remains of vegetables, fruits and food items, which I store in special containers in the outdoor yard of the house, and I work to stir it, then leave it for about two weeks or More until I get a soil that has a good rate of moisture. ”Here, Al-Marzouki refers to the need for continuous monitoring of the soil,“ in the absence of this, the compost may become very wet and emit an unpleasant odor. ”
Exotic gifts
Marzouki admits that the support of her husband and children gave her strength, determination and determination to continue achieving her environmental dream, adding, “I received a lot of encouraging gifts from some relatives and friends, such as food waste resulting from their kitchens, and in the midst of their astonishment at my joy with this kind of gifts, but I was and still am asking them for more of it. And I encourage them not to waste the surplus food and dispose of it in the trash containers, especially since I welcome receiving this kind of gifts around the clock. ”
On its agricultural products, Al-Marzouki said, “I grow flowers, tomatoes of all kinds, onions, molokhia, lettuce, dill, mint, mango, sweet potatoes, basil, coriander, parsley, thyme, zucchini, pumpkin, eggplant, hot and cold pepper, beans and many others. Al-Marzouki concluded by saying happily, “My plants have become attracting butterflies and bees, and this enchanting natural landscape prompted me to create a special account on the (Instagram) site, to spread my experience through the digital space, document it, and encourage community members to exploit household spaces with agriculture.”
A nutritional system after "Covid-19"
Dr. Mohamed Ahmed bin Fahd, Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, confirmed that the Urban Agriculture Champions competition accompanies national efforts to support the food and water system for the post-"Covid-19" stage, by motivating community members, citizens and residents, to review their efforts in The agricultural and water fields, highlighting their practices to achieve self-sufficiency and protect the environment. Bin Fahd added to “Emirates Today” that “Fatima Al Marzouqi is a model for the ambitious and creative Emirati woman who deserves to be honored, as she was able to establish a distinguished family with her awareness of nature protection, and she persevered in Long years to make its agricultural soil rich in vitamins, minerals and elements important to the life of its plants, and although its attempts were not successful in the beginning, she did not give up. Rather, she researched, read and worked to develop her environmental information and agricultural practice », praising her steadfastness in front of many challenges, including the lack of community encouragement for the idea Collecting food waste and leftovers, storing them, bearing their bad smell, attracting insects, and being patient with all that hardship.
• Marzouki's friends provide her with their kitchen waste in support of her agricultural project.
• "Zayed International for the Environment" crowned it a champion of "Urban Agriculture 2".
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