Reducing a slope with waste

Some plots have slopes that make it tough for owners to use the land productively. Most plots with such challenges are located close to the streams.

I have seen such pieces of land abandoned, a situation that causes degradation that can threaten structures on the safer parts of the plot.

Healing such slopes requires a lot of soil, probably tonnes so that it can be raised to the level of the rest of the plot or, at least develop terraces that will reduce the strength of the water thereby mitigating erosion. The cost associated with transferring soil from one place to another is what puts off many from embarking on such projects.

In this week’s project, we will look at how we can generate our own ‘soil’ from within our yard.

As I have been indicating in this space from time to time, waste is something which cannot be used anymore. In our DIY circles it is difficult to define something as waste because there will always be a way of deriving some value from waste.

All that waste that we churn out in the homes can help us in this project. All you need are used empty sacks. Fill a sack with the biodegradable waste. Once it is full tie the mouth of the sack and neatly place it on the slope in a pattern of your choice. It can be semi-circular or straight. A bag at a time will create the terraces of your choice.

You will be surprised to see the bags of waste that your household produces. You may distribute the empty sacks to neighbours so that they can fill them and you can be collecting them at intervals.

To reduce smell you just arrange the bags as they are. The bags easily decompose. You may also apply a thin layer of soil on the bags.

See how easy it is to repair land using waste!

You can plant grass on the thin layer of soil which will help hold the soil from erosion.

It is my humble wish, dear reader, that you will have a week full of activity. Remember, if you want it perfectly done, do it yourself. n